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The Photographic History
of The Civil War

1864— A SHOT THAT STARTLED WASHINGTON

After the shell whirled from the Confederate General Early's gun through the little house outside of Wash!
ington City, shortly before this photograph was taken in July, 1864, consternation spread throughout the
North, and surprise the world over. A most audacious swoop down the Valley of Virginia, over the Potomai
and across Maryland, had carried eight thousand seasoned veterans in gray to the very gates of Washington.
A shot struck near President Lincoln himself at Fort Stevens. The capital was without sufficient trained
defenders. Half a million Union soldiers were scattered south of the Potomac to the Gulf, but few remained
north of the river when Early appeared after forced marches that tested the heroism of his devoted troops.
Hastening on the afternoon of July llth, two army corps arrived from Grant's army. Washington was
saved; reluctantly the daring Confederates retreated, and abandoned their last invasion of the North.

t mi- Centennial

Mt mo vial

The Photographic History
of The Civil War

In Ten Volumes

FRANCIS TREVELYAN MILLER - EDITOR-IK-CHIEF

ROBERT S. LANIER

Managing Editor

Thousands of Scenes Photographed

1861-65, with Text by many

Special Authorities

NEW YORK
THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS Co.

1911

•';

The Photographic History
of The Civil War

Volume Three
The Decisive Battles

INTRODUCTION BY

FREDERICK DENT GRANT

Major-General United States Army
TEXT BY

HEXRY W. ELSOX

Professor of History, Ohio University
PHOTOGRAPH DESCRIPTIONS BY

JAMES BARNES

Author of "Naval Actions of 1812" and "David G. Farramit

New York

The Review of Reviews Co.

1911

Printed in New York, U.S.A.

TIIK SCH WKIN I.].; [f 1'KKSS

xi:\v voitK

PREFACE

THE introduction that follows from General Frederick Dent Grant is a simple state
ment of the large movements during the last year of the war in mass. In it the
reader will find a concise summation of what follows in detail throughout the chapters of
Volume III.

It is amazing to the non-military reader to find how simple was the direct cause for
the tremendous results in the last year of the Civil War. It was the unification of the
Federal army under Ulysses S. Grant. His son, in the pages that follow, repeats the busi
nesslike agreement with President Lincoln which made possible the wielding of all the
Union armies as one mighty weapon.

The structure of Volume II reflects the Civil War situation thus changed in May,
1804. No longer were battles to be fought here and there unrelated; but a definite move
ment was made by " GRANT VERSUS LEE" on the 4th of May, accompanied by "TuE
SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENTS" of Butler, Sherman, and Sigel — all under the absolute con
trol of the man who kept his headquarters near those of Meade, Commander of the Army
of the Potomac.

Against such concentrated strokes the enfeebled Confederacy could not stand. Only
the utter courage of leaders and soldiers innately brave, who were fighting for a cause they
felt meant home no less than principle, prolonged the struggle during the tragic year ending
with May, 1865.

228595

CONTENTS

PAGE

Map — THEATRE OF GEORGIA AND THE CAKOLINAS CAMPAIGNS ... 2

Frontispiece — A SHOT THAT STARTLED WASHINGTON 4

INTRODUCTION

Frederick Dent Grant 13

Part I

GRANT VERSUS LEE

Henry W. Elson

THE BATTLE IN THE WILDERNESS . ... 21

SPOTSYLVANIA AND THE BLOODY ANGLE ... 51

ATTACK AND REPULSE AT COLD HARBOR . 79

Part II

THE SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENTS

Henry H . Elxon

DREWRY'S BLUFF IMPREGNABLE . 93

To ATLANTA — SHERMAN VERSUS JOHNSTON .99

THE LAST CONFLICTS IN THE SHENANDOAH . 139

Part III

CLOSING IN

Henry W. Elson

CHARLESTON, THE UNCONQUERED PORT 1G9

THE INVESTMENT OF PETERSBURG 175

SHERMAN'S FINAL CAMPAIGNS . . . 209

[11]

(Emtients

Part IV

PAGE

FROM WAR TO PEACE

Henry W. Elson

NASHVILLE — THE END IN TENNESSEE 249

THE SIEGE AND FALL OF PETERSBURG 271

APPOMATTOX 295

Part V

ENGAGEMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR FROM MAY, 1864, TO MAY, 1865 . 31?
George L. Kilmer

PHOTOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS THROUGHOUT VOLUME III
James Barnes

[121

INTRODUCTION

By FREDERICK DENT GRANT

Major-General, U. S. A.

GENERAL ULYSSES S. GHANT AT CITY POINT IN 1864, WITH HIS
\\MKK AND SON JESSE

INTRODUCTION

BY FREDERICK DENT GRANT

Major-General^ United States Army

UPOX being appointed lieutenant-general, and having
assumed command of all the armies in the field, in
March, 1864, General Grant had an interview with Presi
dent Lincoln, during which interview Mr. Lincoln stated that
procrastination on the part of commanders, and the pressure
from the people of the North and from Congress, had forced
him into issuing his series of military orders, some of which he
knew were wrong, and all of which may hare been wrong;
that all he, the President, wanted, or had ever wanted, was
some one who would take the responsibility of action, and
would call upon him, as the Executive of the Government, for
such supplies as \vere needed; the President pledging himself
to use the full powers of the Government in rendering all
assistance possible. General Grant assured the President that
he would do the best he could with the means at hand, and
would, as far as possible, avoid annoying the administration
with unnecessary demands.

His first work was to inaugurate a plan of campaign for
all the armies. During the first three years of the war, the
various armies had acted independently — a condition which
had enabled their enemies to reenforce each point of attack by
drawing troops from points of inactivity.

Having this in view, General Grant planned to move all
the armies at once. He looked upon the Army of the James
as the left wing, the Army of the Potomac as the center, and
the troops operating under General Sherman as the right
wing; all other troops being considered as cooperative

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columns. lie believed that by moving the whole line at the
same time the greatest number of troops practicable would be
brought against the armed forces of his enemy, and would
prevent them from using the same force to resist the efforts
of the Union army, first at one point and then at another, and
that, by continuously hammering against their armies, he
would destroy both them and their sources of supply.

To carry out this idea, orders were given to the various
commanders — on the 2d of April to Butler; on the 4th, to Sher
man, and on the 9th, to Meade. In all these orders the same
general ideas were expressed. To Butler he wrote:

" You will collect all the forces from your command that
can be spared from garrison duty ... to operate on the south
side of James River, Richmond being your objective point."

To Sherman he wrote:

" It is my design, if the enemy keep quiet and allow me
to take the initiative in the spring campaign, to work all the
parts of the army together, and somewhat toward a common
center. . . . You, I propose to move against Johnston's army,
to break it up, and to get into the interior of the enemy's
country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can
against their war resources."

To Meade he wrote:

" Lee's army will be your objective point. Wherever
Lee goes, there you wrill go also."

Thus it will be seen that General Grant's plan with refer
ence to the movements of the Army of the Potomac was
similar to that of Xapoleon in the Russian campaign, while
his plan in reference to the whole army much resembles the
plan adopted by the Allies in their campaign against France
in 1813-14.

When these movements began, the situation was about as
follows: In the possession of the Union was all the territory
north of a line beginning at Fortress Monroe, following the
Chesapeake Bay to the Potomac River, up that river to near

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Washington, the northern border of Virginia as far as Har
per's Ferry, covered by the Army of the Potomac; across the
mountains into West Virginia, to the headwaters of the Hol-
ston River in Tennessee, down that river and the Tennessee
to Chattanooga, and thence along the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad to the Mississippi, which was also in Union hands.
All south of that line was in the hands of the Confederates,
except a few stations along the sea coast, the possession of
which assisted in the blockade.

Most of the opposing troops which were east of the Mis
sissippi had been concentrated into the armies commanded by
Lee and Johnston; that commanded by Lee facing the Army
of the Potomac and guarding Richmond, while that of John
ston wTas at Dalton, in the northern part of Georgia, facing
Sherman and defending Atlanta, a great railroad center and
a point of concentration of supplies for the Confederate troops,
wherever they were stationed, east of the Mississippi River.
Richmond and the armies under Lee and Johnston were the
main objectives of the campaign.

General Grant, as commander of the Union armies,
placed himself with the Army of the Potomac, where the
greatest opposition \vas to be expected, and where he consid
ered his personal presence would be of the greatest value, and
whence he exercised general supervision over the movements
of all the armies.

The main movements being against Lee and Johnston, all
other troops were directed to cooperate with the main armies.
The movements of detached bodies would compel the Con
federates either to detach largely for the protection of his
supplies and lines of communication, or else to lose them
altogether.

Everything being prepared, orders were given for the
start, and all the armies were on the move by the 6th of May,
with what results the chapters that follow will tell the reader
in detail.

[16]

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1 1. (Srant

•*•

Early on the morning of the 4th of May, 1864, the Army
of the Potomac moved out of its camp near Culpeper Court
House and, heading toward Richmond, crossed the Rapidan
at Germanna and Ely's fords and entered the Wilderness.
At the same time the Army of the James moved from For
tress Monroe up the James River, landing on the south side
of the James near City Point, threatening Petersburg. The
army in the Shenandoah valley had already started, and Sher
man was about to move.

As the Army of the Potomac was marching through the
Wilderness it was attacked by Lee, who had moved from his
fortifications at Mine Run. The head of Lee's column met
the Army of the Potomac near the Wilderness Tavern, and
the struggle for military supremacy in the field began. This
battle, locally known as " The Wilderness," had by the 7th
of May spread along the entire line of the Federal armies,
and was raging from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi
valley. Columns of men were engaged in battle on the James
River, in the Wilderness, in the Shenandoah valley, and in
northern Georgia. In a few days the question was to be de
termined whether the North or the South possessed the military
mastery of the continent. The decision of this struggle is told
in detail by the chapters which follow.

From now on the tactics of Lee and Johnston were defen
sive, and they awaited the assaults of the Union armies behind
fortifications. The Union center attacked and maneuvered,
always by the left flank, while the right wing maneuvered
generally by the right flank. One flank movement after an
other forced the Confederates out of position after position,
until their main armies were thrown back to near the James
River, to Staunton, Virginia, and to the Etowah River, Geor
gia. In the East, the great battle of Cold Harbor was fought,
and a sudden flank movement to the left was made, the crossing
of the James effected, and the carrying of the outer lines of
Petersburg, which city, with Richmond, was immediately laid

ntrnimrttnn by <g?tt?rai 1$. H (grant

under siege. The junction of the armies of the James and
of the Potomac now took place, and from this time on they
together formed the left wing of the Union armies. The col
umn in the Shenandoah valley had penetrated to near Staun-
ton and Lynchburg, in Virginia ; but their ammunition becom
ing almost exhausted, especially that for artillery, the army
had to move over the mountains toward the Kanawha valley,
thus leaving the Shenandoah valley open for General Early
to pass through in making raids on the North; while the right
wing of the Union army pushed its way on through northern
Georgia to the Chattahoochee River, which it crossed, and
moved toward Atlanta. The first phase of the great campaign
was thus ended, and the second phase now opens before us.

As already described, the Shenandoah valley was left
open to raids by Southern troops into the North, and so able
a man as General Lee did not miss such an opportunity. A
portion of the Confederates within the strong entrenchments
of Petersburg and Richmond were detached under General
Early, who marched down the Shenandoah, crossed the Po
tomac, and entered Maryland, penetrating as far as Wash
ington, for the defense of which city two corps were detached
from the right wing. They succeeded in saving the national
capital and in driving Early's forces to the north and west,
and took up the line of the Monocacy. Sheridan was given
the command of the Federal defense. He soon placed himself
in the valley of the Shenandoah, where his army now became
the center of the Union line.

The second phase was the adoption of the policy to keep
the Confederate armies within the besieged cities, Richmond,
Petersburg, and Atlanta, and actively to engage the outside
troops, to drive all the smaller bands to the south, to devastate
the country from which supplies were drawn, and, as far as
possible, to destroy the troops that gathered these supplies.
In these movements the most active and most effective column
was the Army of the Shenandoah, wrhich soon sent the oppos-

[18]

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S35

nimiHtriimt by (iknrral "S. H (grant

ing force, as Sheridan expressed it, k' whirling through Win
chester," annihilated two armies gathered to protect the Val
ley, and destroyed all the war supplies it contained.

In the meantime, the Confederate Government, finding
that it was losing so much ground by its defensive policy,
relieved Johnston, an officer of great ability, who was com
manding at Atlanta. Hood was placed in charge of that
wing of the army. He immediately assumed the offensive
and attacked the Army of the Tennessee on the 22(1 of July,
but was defeated and thrown back, with great losses, into his
works at Atlanta.

Sherman soon followed Hood's lead by making another
flank movement, which caused the fall of the city, the Con
federates evacuating the place and moving to the west and
north, threatening Sherman's line of supplies. Sherman fol
lowed Hood for a while, but it was soon decided to detach
part of the troops under him, to concentrate them at Nash-
ville, in Tennessee, so as to prevent an invasion of the North
by Hood's army, and to abandon the lines of supplies to the
rear; and then for Sherman to push on to the sea, cutting
through Georgia, living off the country, and destroying as far
as possible the store houses from which the army in Richmond
gathered its food.

Hood followed one of the detachments from Sher
man's army, and penetrated as far north as Nashville,
where, in December, the decisive battle of Nashville was
fought. This relieved the country in the rear of the line from
menace, and one might say that the Confederacy was lim
ited to the segment of a circle the circumference of which
would pass through Richmond, Petersburg, Savannah, At
lanta, and Nashville. The policy maintained was continually
to reduce the size of this circle until the Confederacy was
crushed.

Sherman turned north, marching through the Carolinas.
Part of the troops that had fought at Nashville under Thomas

(/////

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were sent to Wilmington, under Schofield, after the fall of
Fort Fisher. Sheridan's troopers were pressed forward up
the Shenandoah Valley, to cross over to the headwaters of the
James River, and down that stream to join the armies of the
Potomac and of the James in front of Richmond and Peters
burg. Stoneman moved from east Tennessee into the Vir
ginias. The circle was contracted and the Confederacy was
pressed on every side. This constituted the second phase of
the great campaign, and the grand finale was about to be
enacted.

As soon as Sheridan reached the Army of the Potomac,
his troops were placed on the left of that army, to attack the
remaining lines of communication between Richmond and the
South. This forced the Confederates to detach large numbers
of troops from their works, and, while thus weakened, the
Army of the Potomac assaulted and carried the lines in front
of Petersburg on the 2d of April, 1865. The fall of the for
tifications around Petersburg opened to the Union armies all
the lines of communication which the Confederates had to the
south from Richmond, and forced the evacuation of that city.
A race was begun by the Confederates to get beyond the Arm}'
of the Potomac and Sheridan's troopers, to join Johnston, and
so possibly to overpower Sherman's army. Sheridan suc
ceeded in heading Lee off and in forcing him from the rail
road, where his supplies were, while parts of the armies of the
Potomac and the James followed and pressed Lee's army in
the rear, until the 9th of April, when he was nearly surrounded
at Appomattox Court House and his position was such that
he was forced to surrender.

With the fall of Richmond and Petersburg and the sur
render of Lee, the main prop of the Confederacy was broken,
and all that was now necessary was to gather in the other
Southern armies. As further resistance was useless, these
armies asked for terms, which were granted, and thus ended
the third and last phase of the great campaign.

[20]

PART I
GRANT VERSUS I.KE

THE BATTLES IN
THE WILDERNESS

WRKCKAGE OF TREES AND MEX, AS THEY FELL IN THE DENSE FOREST — VICTIMS OF THE MONTH S
ADVANCE THAT COST 40,000 UNION DEAD AND WOUNDED

YRIGHT, 1911, REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

ULYSSES S. GRANT

GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF THE FEDERAL ARMY IN 1805.
HORN" 1*22; WEST POINT Iflf^DIED 188.5.

PONTOONS AT GERMANNA FORD ON THE RAPIDAN

BEGINNING THE "SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENT" TO END THE WAR

troops set in motion by the supreme word of Grant at the beginning of May, 1804. East and West, the
concentrated forces were to participate as much as possible in one simultaneous advance to strike the vitals
of the Confederacy. The movements of Sherman, Banks, Sigel, and Butler were intended to be direct
factors in the efficiency of his own mighty battering on the brave front of Lee's army. All along the line
from the Mississippi to the Atlantic there was to be cooperation so that the widely separated armies of the
South would have their hands full of fighting and could spare no recnforcements to each other. But it took
only a few weeks to convince Grant that in Robert E. Lee, he had met more than his match in strategy.
Sigel and Butler failed him at New Market and Drewrv's Bluff. The simultaneous movement crumbled.

LEE'S MEN

The faces of the veterans in this photograph of 1864 reflect more forcibly than volumes of historical es
says, the privations and the courage of the ragged veterans in gray who faced Grant, with Lee as their
leader. They did not know that their struggle had already become unavailing; that no amount of per
severance and devotion could make headway against the resources, determination, and discipline of the
Northern armies, now that they had become concentrated and wielded by a master of men like Grant.
But Grant was as yet little more than a name to the armies of the East. His successes had been
won on Western fields — Donelson, Vicksburg, Chattanooga. It was not yet known that the Army of the
Potomac under the new general-in-chief was to prove irresistible. So these faces reflect perfect confidence.

CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS IX VIRGINIA, 1804

Though prisoners when this picture was taken — a remnant of Grant's heavy captures during May and
June, when he sent some ten thousand Confederates to Coxey's Landing, Virginia, as a result of his first
stroke against Lee — though their arms have been taken from them, though their uniforms are anything but
"uniform," their hats partly the regulation felt of the Army of Northern Virginia, partly captured Federal
caps, and partly nondescript — yet these ragged veterans stand and sit with the dignity of accomplish
ment. To them, "Marse Robert" is still the general unconquerable, under whom inferior numbers again
and again have held their own, and more; the brilliant leader under whom every man gladly rushes to any
assault, however impossible it seems, knowing that every order will be made to count.

THE BATTLE IN THE WILDERNESS

Him

The volunteers who composed the armies of the Potomac and North
ern Virginia were real soldiers now, inured to war, and desperate in their
determination to do its work without faltering or failure. This fact—
this change in the temper and morale of the men on either side — had
greatly simplified the tasks set for Grant and Lee to solve. They knew
their men. They knew that those men would stand against anything,
endure slaughter without flinching, hardship without complaining, and
make desperate endeavor without shrinking. The two armies had become
what they had not been earlier in the contest, perfect 'instruments of war,
that could be relied upon as confidently as the machinist relics upon his
engine scheduled to make so many revolutions per minute at a given rate
of horse-power, and with the precision of science itself. — George Cart/
Eggleston, in "The History of the Confederate War.'1''

AFTER the battle of Gettysburg, Lee started for the
Potomac, which he crossed with some difficulty, but
with little interruption from the Federals, above Harper's
Ferry, on July 14, 1863. The thwarted invader of Pennsyl
vania wished to get to the plains of Virginia as quickly as
possible, but the Shenandoah was found to be impassable.
Meade, in the mean time, had crossed the Potomac east of the
Blue Ridge and seized the principal outlets from the lower
part of the Valley. Lee, therefore, was compelled to continue
his retreat up the Shenandoah until Longstreet, sent in ad
vance with part of his command, had so blocked the Federal
pursuit that most of the Confederate army was able to emerge
through Chester Gap and move to Culpeper Court House.
Kwell marched through Thornton's Gap and by the 4th of
August practically the whole Army of Northern Virginia was
south of the Rapidan, prepared to dispute the crossing of that
river. But Meade, continuing his flank pursuit, halted at

[28]

THE COMING OF THE STRANGER GRANT

Hither, to Meade's headquarters at Brandy Station, came Grant on March 10, 18(54. The day before, in
Washington, President Lincoln handed him his commission, appointing him Lieutenant-Genera] in command
of all the Federal forces. His visit to Washington convinced him of the wisdom of remaining in the East to
direct affairs, and his first interview with Meade decided him to retain that efficient general in command of
the Army of the Potomac. The two men had known each other hut slightly from casual meetings during the
Mexican War. "I was a stranger to most of the Army of the Potomac," said Grant, "hut Meade's modesty
and willingness to serve in any capacity impressed me even more than had his victory at Gettysburg." The
only prominent officers Grant brought on from the West were Sheridan and Rawlins.

Culpeper Court House, deeming it imprudent to attempt the
Rapidan in the face of the strongly entrenched Confederates.
In the entire movement there had been no fighting except a
few cavalry skirmishes and no serious loss on either side.

On the 9th of September, Lee sent Longstreet and his
corps to assist Bragg in the great conflict that was seen to be
inevitable around Chattanooga. In spite of reduced strength,
Lee proceeded to assume a threatening attitude toward Meade,
and in October and early November there were several small
but severe engagements as the Confederate leader attempted
to turn Meade's flank and force him back to the old line of
Bull Run. On the 7th of November, Sedgwick made a bril
liant capture of the redoubts on the Rappahannock, and Lee
returned once more to his old position on the south side of the
Rapidan. This lay between Barnett's Ford, near Orange
Court House (Lee's headquarters), and Morton's Ford, twenty
miles below. Its right was also protected by entrenchments
along the course of Mine Run. Against these, in the last days
of November, Meade sent French, Sedgwick, and Warren.
It was found impossible to carry the Confederate position,
and on December 1st the Federal troops were ordered to re-
cross the Rapidan. In this short campaign the Union lost
sixteen hundred men and the Confederacy half that number.
With the exception of an unsuccessful cavalry raid against
Richmond, in February, nothing disturbed the existence of the
two armies until the coming of Grant.

In the early months of 1864, the Army of the Potomac
lay between the Rapidan and the Rappahannock, most of it
in the vicinity of Culpeper Court House, although some of
the troops were guarding the railroad to Washington as far
as Bristoe Station, close to Manassas Junction. On the south
side of the Rapidan, the Army of Northern Virginia was, as
has been seen, securely entrenched. The Confederates' ranks
were thin and their supplies were scarce; but the valiant spirit
which had characterized the Southern hosts in former battles

[30]

OX THE WAY TO THE FRONT

The Streets of Culpeper, Virginia, in March, 1804. After Grant's arrival, the Army of the Potomac awoke to
the activity of the spring campaign. One of the first essentials was to get the vast transport trains in readi
ness to cross the Rapidan. Wagons were massed by thousands at Culpeper, near where Meade's troops had
spent the winter. The work of the teamsters was most arduous; wearied by long night marches — nodding,
reins in hand, for lack of sleep — they might at any moment be suddenly attacked in a bold attempt to capture
or destroy their precious freight. When the arrangements were completed, each wagon bore the corps badge,
division color, and number of the brigade it was to serve. Its contents were also designated, together with
the branch of the service for which it was intended. While loaded, the wagons must keep pace with the army
movements whenever possible in order to be parked at night near the brigades to which they belonged.

IBaiil? in tit?

still burned fiercely within their breasts, presaging many des
perate battles before the heel of the invader should tread upon
their cherished capital, Richmond, and their loved cause, the
Confederacy.

Within the camp religious services had been held for
weeks in succession, resulting in the conversion of large num
bers of the soldiers. General Lee was a religious man. The
influence of the awakening among the men in the army dur
ing this revival was manifest after the war was over, when the
soldiers had gone back to civil life, under conditions most
trying and severe. To this spiritual frame of mind may be
credited, perhaps, some of the remarkable feats accomplished
in subsequent battles by the Confederate army.

On February 29, 1864, the United States Congress passed
a law reviving the grade of lieutenant-general, the title being
intended for Grant, who was made general-in-chief of the
armies of the United States. Grant had come from his vic
torious battle-grounds in the West, and all eyes turned to him
as the chieftain who should lead the Union army to success.
On the 9th of 31 arch he received his commission. He now
planned the final great double movement of the war. Taking
control of the whole campaign against Lee, but leaving the
Army of the Potomac under Meade's direct command, he chose
the strongest of his corps commanders, W. T. Sherman, for
the head of affairs in the West. Grant's immediate objects
were to defeat Lee's army and to capture Richmond, the latter
to be accomplished by General Butler and the Army of the
James; Sherman's object was to crush Johnston, to seize that
important railroad center, Atlanta, Georgia, and, with Banks'
assistance, to open a way between the Atlantic coast and
Mobile, on the Gulf, thus dividing the Confederacy north and
south, as the conquest of the Mississippi had parted it east and
west. It was believed that if either or both of these cam
paigns were successful, the downfall of the Confederacy would
be assured.

[88]

May
1804

BELLE PLAIN, WHERE THE WAGON-TRAINS STARTED

In Grant's advance through the desolate tract guarded by Lee's veterans, extending for ten miles along
the south bank of the Rapidan and for fifteen miles to the southward, he was unable to gather a particle
of forage. His train of wagons in single file would have stretched from the Rapidan to Richmond. Never
was a quartermaster's corps better organized than that of the Army of the Potomac in 1864. General Ilufus
Ingalls, Chief Quartermaster, managed his department with the precision of clockwork. The wagons, as
fast as emptied, were returned to the base to be reloaded. Nevertheless within a week the losses of this
well-equipped Army of the Potomac in the Wilderness campaign made dreadful reading. But with grim
determination Grant wrote on May 11, 1804: "I am now sending back to Belle Plain all my wagons for a
fresh supply of provisions and ammunition, and I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all
summer."

On a recommendation of General Meade's, the Army of
the Potomac was reorganized into three corps instead of the
previous five. The Second, Fifth, and Sixth corps were re
tained, absorbing the First and Third.

Hancock was in command of the Second; Warren, the
Fifth; and Sedgwick, the Sixth. Sheridan was at the head of
the cavalry. The Xinth Corps acted as a separate army under
Burnside, and was now protecting the Orange and Alexandria
Railroad. As soon as Meade had crossed the Rapidan, Burn-
side was ordered to move promptly, and he reached the battle
field of the Wilderness on the morning of May 6th. On May
24th his corps was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The
Union forces, including the Xinth Corps, numbered about one
hundred and eighteen thousand men.

The Army of Xorthern Virginia consisted of three corps
of infantry, the First under Longstreet, the Second under
Ewell, and the Third under A. P. Hill, and a cavalry corps
commanded by Stuart. A notable fact in the organization
of the Confederate army was the few changes made in com
manders. The total forces under Lee were about sixty-two
thousand.

After assuming command, Grant established his head
quarters at Culpeper Court House, whence he visited Wash
ington once a week to consult with President Lincoln and the
Secretary of War. He was given full authority, however, as
to men and movements, and worked out a plan of campaign
which resulted in a series of battles in Virginia unparalleled in
history. The first of these was precipitated in a dense forest,
a wilderness, from which the battle takes its name.

Grant decided on a general advance of the Army of the
Potomac upon Lee, and early on the morning of May 4th the
movement began by crossing the Rapidan at several fords
below Lee's entrenched position, and moving by his right flank.
The crossing was effected successfully, the line of march tak
ing part of the Federal troops over a scene of defeat in the

[34]

(AMP IS BROKEN— THE ARMY ADVANCES

To secure for Grant the fullest possible information about Lee's movements was the task of General Sharp,
Chief of the Secret Service of the Army, whose deserted headquarters at Brandy Station, Va., in April, 1804,
are shown in this photograph. Here are the stalls built for the horses and the stockade for prisoners. The
brick fireplace that had lent its cheer to the general's canvas house is evidence of the comforts of an army
settled down for the respite of winter. Regretfully do soldiers exchange all this for forced marches and hard
fighting; and to the scouts, who precede an army, active service holds a double hazard. A isitors to Fed,
eral camps often wondered at soldiers in Confederate gray chatting or playing cards with the men in blue and
being allowed to pass freely. These were Federal spies, always in danger of being captured and summarily
shot, not only by the Confederates, but in returning and attempting to regain their own lines.

Haiti? in il|?

previous spring. One year before, the magnificent Army of
the Potomac, just from a long winter's rest in the encamp
ment at Falmouth on the north bank of the Rappahannock,
had met the legions of the South in deadly combat on the
battlefield of Chancellorsville. And now Grant was leading
the same army, whose ranks had been freshened by new recruits
from the North, through the same field of war.

By eight o'clock on the morning of the 4th the various
rumors as to the Federal army's crossing the Rapidan received
by Lee were fully confirmed, and at once he prepared to set
his own army in motion for the Wilderness, and to throw him
self across the path of his foe. Two days before he had gath
ered his corps and division commanders around him at the
signal station on Clark's Mountain, a considerable eminence
south of the Rapidan, near Robertson's Ford. Here he ex
pressed the opinion that Grant would cross at the lower fords,
as he did, but nevertheless Longstreet was kept at Gordons-
ville in case the Federals should move by the Confederate left.

The day was oppressively hot, and the troops suffered
greatly from thirst as they plodded along the forest aisles
through the jungle-like region. The Wilderness was a maze
of trees, underbrush, and ragged foliage. Low-limbed pines,
scrub-oaks, hazels, and chinkapins interlaced their branches on
the sides of rough country roads that lead through this laby
rinth of desolation. The weary troops looked upon the heavy
tangles of fallen timber and dense undergrowth with a sense
of isolation. Only the sounds of the birds in the trees, the
rustling of the leaves, and the passing of the army relieved
the heavy pall of solitude that bore upon the senses of the
Federal host.

The forces of the Northern army advanced into the vast
no-man's land by the roads leading from the fords. In the
afternoon, Hancock was resting at Chancellorsville, while
Warren posted his corps near the Wilderness Tavern, in which
General Grant established his headquarters. Sedgwick's corps

[36]

THE "GRAND CAMPAIGN" UNDER WAY— THE DAY BEFORE THE BATTLE

Pontoon-Bridges at Germanna Ford, on the Rapidan. Here the Sixth Corps under Sedgwick and Warren's Fifth Corps began crossing
on the morning of May 4, 1864. The Second Corps, under Hancock, crossed at Ely's Ford, farther to the east. The cavalry, under
Sheridan, was in advance. By night the army, with the exception of Burnside's Ninth Corps, was south of the Rapidan, advancing into
the \\ilderness. The Ninth Corps (a reserve of twenty thousand men) remained temporarily north of the Rappahannock, guarding
railway communications. On the wooden pontoon-bridge the rear-guard is crossing while the pontonniers are taking up the canvas bridge
beyond. The movement was magnificently managed; Grant believed it to be a complete surprise, as Lee had offered no opposition.
That was yet to come. In the baffling righting of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, Grant was to lose a third of his superior
number, arriving a month later on the James with a dispirited army that had left behind .54,9-20 comrades in a month.

It? lattb in

had followed in the track of Warren's veterans, but was or
dered to halt near the river crossing, or a little south of it.
The cavalry, as much as was not covering the rear wagon
trains, was stationed near Chancellorsville and the Wilderness
Tavern. That night the men from the North lay in bivouac
with little fear of being attacked in this wilderness of waste,
where military maneuvers would be very difficult.

Two roads — the old Orange turnpike and the Orange
plank road — enter the Wilderness from the southwest. Along
these the Confederates moved from their entrenched position
to oppose the advancing hosts of the North. Ewell took the
old turnpike and Hill the plank road. Longstreet was hasten
ing from Gordons vi lie. The troops of Longstreet, on the one
side, and of Burnside, on the other, arrived on the field after
exhausting forced marches.

The locality in which the Federal army found itself on the
5th of May was not one that any commander would choose
for a battle-ground. Lee was more familiar witli its terrible
features than was his opponent, but this gave him little or no
advantage. Grant, having decided to move by the Confederate
right flank, could only hope to pass through the desolate
region and reach more open country before the inevitable clash
would come. But this was not to be. General Humphreys,
who was Meade's chief of staff, says in his " Virginia Cam
paign of 1864 and 1865 ": " So far as I know, no great battle
ever took place before on such ground. But little of the com
batants could be seen, and its progress was known to the senses
chiefly by the rising and falling sounds of a vast musketry fire
that continually swept along the lines of battle, many miles
in length, sounds which at times approached to the sublime."

As Ewell, moving along the old turnpike on the morning
of May 5th, came near the Germanna Ford road, Warren's
corps was marching down the latter on its way to Parker's
store, the destination assigned it by the orders of the day.
This meeting precipitated the battle of the Wilderness.

[38]

May
1864

THE TANGLED BATTLEFIELD

Tin- Edge of the Wilderness. May .5, 18(i4. Stretching away to the westward between Grant's army and Lee's lay no-man's-land— the
\\ilderness. Covered with a second-growth of thicket, thorny underbrush, and twisted vines, it was an almost impassable labyrinth,
with here and there small clearings in which stood deserted barns and houses, reached only by unused and overgrown farm roads. The
Federal advance into this region was not a surprise to Lee, as Grant supposed. The Confederate commander had caused the region to
be carefully surveyed, hoping for the precise opportunity that Grant was about to give him. At the very outset of the campaign he
could strike the Federals in a position where superior numbers counted little. If he could drive Grant beyond the Rappahannock — as
he had forced Pope, Burnside and Hooker before him — says George C a ry Eggleston (in the "History of the Confederate War"), "loud
and almost irresistible would have been the cry for an armistice, supported (as it would have been) by Wall Street and all Europe."

Meade learned the position of Swell's advance division
and ordered an attack. The Confederates were driven back a
mile or two, but, re-forming and reenforced, the tide of battle
was turned the other way. Sedgwick's marching orders were
sending him to the Wilderness Tavern on the turnpike. He
was on his way when the battle began, and he now turned to
the right from the Germanna Ford road and formed several of
his divisions on Warren's right. The presence of Hill on the
plank road became known to Meade and Grant, about eight in
the morning. Hancock, at Chancellorsville, was too far away
to check him, so Getty's division of Sedgwick's corps, on its
way to the right, was sent over the Brock road to its junction
with the plank road for the purpose of driving Hill back, if
possible, beyond Parker's store.

Warren and Sedgwick began to entrench themselves when
they realized that Ewell had effectively blocked their progress.
Getty, at the junction of the Brock and the Orange plank
roads, was likewise throwing up breastworks as fast as he
could. Hancock, coming down the Brock road from Chancel
lorsville, reached him at two in the afternoon and found two
of A. P. Hill's divisions in front. After waiting to finish his
breastworks, Getty, a little after four o'clock, started, with
Hancock supporting him, to carry out his orders to drive Hill
back. Hancock says: " The fighting became very fierce at
once. The lines of battle were exceedingly close, the musketry
continuous and deadly along the entire line. . . . The battle
raged with great severity and obstinacy until about 8 P.M.
without decided advantage to either party." Here, on the
Federal left, and in this desperate engagement, General Alex
ander Hays, one of Hancock's brigade commanders, was shot
through the head and killed.

The afternoon had worn away with heavy skirmishing on
the right. About five o'clock Meade made another attempt on
K well's forces. Both lines were Avell entrenched, but the Con
federate artillery enfiladed the Federal positions. It was after

[40]

WHERE EWELL'S (CHARGE SURPRISED (iRAXT

A photograph of Confederate breastworks raised by E well's men a few
months before, while they fought in the Wilderness, May 5, 1864. In
the picture we see some of the customary breastworks which both con
tending armies threw up to strengthen their positions. These were in a
field near the turnpike in front of Swell's main line. The impracticable
nature of the ground tore the lines on both sides into fragments; as
they swept back and forth, squads and companies strove fiercely with
one another, hand-to-hand. Grant had confidently expressed the belief
to one of his staff officers that there was no more advance left in Lee's
army. He was surprised to learn on the 5th that Swell's Corps was
marching rapidly down the Orange turnpike to strike at Sedgwick and
Warren, while A. P. Hill, with Longstreet close behind, was pushing for
ward on the Orange plank-road against Hancock.

hr Ifoitl? in tire

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v ..

dark when General Seymour of Sedgwick's corps finally with
drew his brigade, with heavy loss in killed and wounded.

When the battle roar had ceased, the rank and file of the
Confederate soldiers learned with sorrow of the death of one
of the most dashing brigade leaders in Swell's corps, General
John M. Jones. This fighting was the preliminary strug
gle for position in the formation of the battle-lines of the two
armies, to secure the final hold for the death grapple. The
contestants were without advantage on either side when the
sanguinary day's work was finished.

Both armies had constructed breastworks and were en
trenched very close to each other, front to front, gathered and
poised for a deadly spring. Karly on the morning of May 6th
Hancock was reenforced by Burnside, and Hill by Longstreet.

Grant issued orders, through Meade, for a general attack
by Sedgwick, Warren, and Hancock along the entire line, at
five o'clock on the morning of the 6th. Fifteen minutes before
five the Confederates opened fire on Sedgwick's right, and
soon the battle was raging along the whole five-mile front.
It became a hand-to-hand contest. The Federals advanced
with great difficulty. The combatants came upon each other
but a few paces apart. Soldiers on one side became hopelessly
mixed with those of the other.

Artillery played but little part in the battle of the Wil
derness. The cavalry of the two armies had one indecisive
engagement on the 5th. The next day both Custer and Gregg
repulsed Hampton and Fit/hugh Lee in two separate en
counters, but Sheridan was unable to follow up the advantage.
He had been entrusted with the care of the wagon trains and
dared not take his cavalry too far from them. The battle was
chiefly one of musketry. Volley upon volley was poured
out unceasingly; screaming bullets mingled with terrific yells
in the dense woods. The noise became deafening, and the
wounded and dying lying on the ground among the trees made
a scene of indescribable horror. Living men rushed in to take

[42]

LKE GIVES BLOW FOR
BLOW

Another view of K well's ad
vanced entrenchments — the
hark still fresh where the Con
federates had worked with the
logs. In the Wilderness, Lee,
ever hold and aggressive, exe
cuted one of the most brilliant
maneuvers of his career. His
advance was a sudden surprise
for Grant, and the manner in
which he gave battle was an
other. Grant harbored the
notion that his adversary would
;<"t on the defensive, and that
there would be opportunity to
attack the Army of Northern
Virginia only behind strong
entrenchments. But in the
Wilderness, Lee's veterans, the
backbone of the South's fight
ing strength, showed again their
unquenchable spirit of ag
gressiveness. They came forth
to meet Grant's men on equal
terms in the thorny thickets.
About noon, May oth, the still
ness was broken by the rattle
of musketry and the roar of
artillery, which told that War
ren had met with resistance on
the turnpike and that the
battle had begun. Nearly a
mile were Ewell's men driven
back, and then they came mag
nificently on again, fighting
furiously in the smoke-filled
thickets with Warren's now
retreating troops. Sedgwick,
coming to the support of
Warren, renewed the conflict.
To the southward on the plank
road, (Jetty's division, of the
Sixth Corps, hard pressed by
the forces of A. P. Hill, was
succored by Hancock with tin-
Second Corps, and together
these commanders achieved
what seemed success. It was
brief; Longstreet was close at
hand to save the day for the
Confederates.

It? lattb fat %

the places of those who had fallen. The missiles cut branches
from the trees, and saplings were mowed down as grass in a
meadow is cut by a scythe. Bloody remnants of uniforms,
blue and gray, hung as weird and uncanny decorations from
remaining branches.

The story of the Federal right during the morning is
easily told. Persistently and often as he tried, Warren could
make no impression on the strongly entrenched Ewell — nor
could Sedgwick, who was trying equally hard with Wright's
division of his corps. But with Hancock on the left, in his en
trenchments on the Brock road, it was different. The gallant
and heroic charges here have elicited praise and admiration
from friend and foe alike. At first, Hill was forced back in
disorder, and driven in confusion a mile and a half from his
line. The Confederates seemed on the verge of panic and
rout. From the rear of the troops in gray came the beloved
leader of the Southern host, General Lee. He was astride his
favorite battle-horse, and his face was set in lines of determi
nation. Though the crisis of the battle for the Confederates
had arrived, Lee's voice was calm and soft as he commanded,
" Follow me," and then urged his charger toward the bristling
front of the Federal lines. The Confederate ranks were elec
trified by the brave example of their commander. A ragged
veteran who had followed Lee through many campaigns, leaped
forward and caught the bridle-rein of the horse. ' We won't
go on until you go back," cried the devoted warrior. Instantly
the Confederate ranks resounded with the cry, " Lee to the
rear! Lee to the rear!" and the great general wrent back to
safety while his soldiers again took up the gage of battle and
plunged into the smoke and death-laden storm. But Lee, by
his personal presence, and the arrival of Longstreet, had re
stored order and courage in the ranks, and their original
position was soon regained.

The pursuit of the Confederates through the dense forest
had caused confusion and disorganization in Hancock's corps.

[44]

//////

r ///m

TREES IN THE TRACK OF
THE IRON STORM

Tin- Wilderness to the north of
the Orange turnpike. Over
ground like this, where men
had seldom trod before, ebbed
and flowed the tide of tramp
ling thousands on May 5 and 0,
1864. Artillery, of which (irant
had a superabundance, was
well-nigh useless, wreaking its
impotent fury upon the defense
less trees. Even the efficacy of
musketry fire was hampered.
Men tripping and falling in the
tangled underbrush arose bleed
ing from the briars to struggle
with an adversary whose every
movement was impeded also.
The cold steel of the bayonet
finished the work which rifles
had begun. In the terrible
turmoil of death the hopes of
both (Irani and Lee were
doomed to disappointment.
The result was a victory for
neither. Lee, disregarding his
own safety, endeavored to rally
the disordered ranks of A. P.
Hill, and could only be per
suaded to retire by the pledge of
Longstreet that his advancing
force would win the coveted
victory. Falling upon Han
cock's flank, the fresh troops
seemed about to crush the
Second Corps, as Jackson's men
had crushed the Eleventh the
previous year at Chancellors-
ville. But now, as Jackson, at
the critical moment, had fallen
by the fire of his own men, so
Longstreet and his staff, gallop
ing along the plank road, were
mistaken by their own soldiers
for Federals and fired upon. A
minie-ball struck Longstreet in
t he shoulder, and he was carried
from the field, feebly waving his
hat that his men might know
that he was not killed. With
him departed from the field the
life of the attack.

ITF laltl? in tlt£

That cohesion and strength in a battle-line of soldiers, where
the men can " feel the touch," shoulder to shoulder, was want
ing, and the usual form and regular alignment was broken.
It was two hours before the lines were re-formed. That short
time had been well utilized by the Confederates. Gregg's
eight hundred Texans made a desperate charge through the
thicket of the pine against Webb's brigade of Hancock's
corps, cutting through the growth, and wildly shouting amid
the crash and roar of the battle. Half of their number were
left on the field, but the blowr had effectually checked the Fed
eral advance.

While the battle Avas raging Grant's general demeanor
was imperturbable. He remained with Meade nearly the whole
day at headquarters at the Lacy house. He sat upon a stump
most of the time, or at the foot of a tree, leaning against its
trunk, whittling sticks with his pocket-knife and smoking big
black cigars — twenty during the day. He received reports of
the progress of the battle and gave orders without the least
evidence of excitement or emotion. ' His orders," said one
of his staff, " were given with a spur," implying instant action.
On one occasion, when an officer, in great excitement, brought
him the report of Hancock's misfortune and expressed appre
hension as to Lee's purpose, Grant exclaimed with some
warmth: "Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing what Lee is
going to do. Go back to your command and try to think what
we are going to do ourselves."

Several brigades of Longstreet's troops, though weary
from their forced march, were sent on a flanking movement
against Hancock's left, which demoralized Mott's division and
caused it to fall back three-quarters of a mile. Longstreet
now advanced with the rest of his corps. The dashing leader,
while riding with Generals Kershaw and Jenkins at the head
of Jenkins' brigade on the right of the Southern battle array,
was screened by the tangled thickets from the view of his own
troops, flushed with the success of brilliant flank movement.

[46]

May

1864

THE GRAVEYARD OF THREE CAMPAIGNS

As this photograph was taken, May 12, 1864, the dead again were being brought to unhappy Fredericksburg,
where slept thousands that had fought under Burnside and Hooker. Now, once more, the sad cavalcade is
arriving, freighted still more heavily. The half-ruined homes, to which some of the dwellers had returned,
for the third time become temporary hospitals. It was weeks before the wounded left. The Wilderness
brought death's woe to 2,246 Northern homes, and Spotsylvania added its 2,725 more. At the South,
mourning for lost ones was not less widespread. As a battle, the fighting at close quarters in the Wilderness
was indecisive; as a slaughter, it proved that the deadly determination on both sides was equal. Grant,
as he turned his face in anguish away from the passing trains of dead and wounded, had learned a bitter
lesson — not only as to the fighting blood of his new command but also of that of the foe he had come to crush.

It? Haiti? tit Hi? IBtUimtpaB •*••$••$••*•

Suddenly the passing column was seen indistinctly through
an opening and a volley burst forth and struck the officers.
When the smoke lifted Longstreet and Jenkins were do wri
the former seriously wounded, and the latter killed outright.
As at Chancellorsville a year before and on the same battle
ground, a great captain of the Confederacy was shot down by
his own men, and by accident, at the crisis of a battle. Jack
son lingered several days after Chancellorsville, while Long-
street recovered and lived to fight for the Confederacy till the
surrender at Appomattox. General Wadsworth, of Hancock's
corps, was mortally wounded during the day, while making a
daring assault on the Confederate works, at the head of his men.

During the afternoon, the Confederate attack upon Han
cock's and Burnside's forces, which constituted nearly half the
entire army, was so severe that the Federal lines began to give
way. The combatants swayed back and forth ; the Confederates
seized the Federal breastworks repeatedly, only to be repulsed
again and again. Once, the Southern colors were placed on
the Union battlements. A fire in the forest, which had been
burning for hours, and in which, it is estimated, about two
hundred of the Federal wounded perished, was communicated
to the timber entrenchments, the heat and smoke driving into
the faces of the men on the Union side, and compelling them
in some places to abandon the works. Hancock made a gal
lant and heroic effort to re-form his lines and push the attack,
and, as he rode along the lines, his inspiring presence elicited
cheer upon cheer from the men, but the troops had exhausted
their ammunition, the wagons were in the rear, and as night
was approaching, further attack was abandoned. The contest
ended on the lines where it began.

Later in the evening consternation swept the Federal
camp when heavy firing was heard in the direction of Sedg-
wick's corps, on the right. The report was current that the
entire Sixth Corps had been attacked and broken. What had
happened was a surprise attack by the Confederates,

[48]

TT-

A LOSS IN "EFFECTIVE STRENGTH"— WOUNDED AT FREDERICKSBURG

Federal wounded in the Wilderness campaign, at Fredericksburg. Grant lost 17. .'5 percent, of his numbers engaged in the two days'
battles of the Wilderness alone. Lee's loss was 18.1 per cent. More than 24,000 of the Army of the Potomac and of the Army of North
ern Virginia lay suffering in those uninhabited thickets. There many of them died alone, and some perished in the horror of a forest
fire on the night of May 5th. The Federals lost many gallant officers, among them the veteran Wadsworth. The Confederates lost
Generals Jenkins and Jones, killed, and suffered a staggering blow in the disabling of Longstreet. The series of battles of the Wilder
ness and Spotsylvania campaigns were more costly to the Federals than Antietam and Gettysburg combined.

IIP laitlr in

*$*

commanded by General John B. Gordon, on Sedgwick's right
fiank, Generals Seymour and Shaler with six hundred men
heing captured. When a message was received from Sedg-
wick that the Sixth Corps was safe in an entirely new line,
there was great rejoicing in the Union camp.

Thus ended the two days' fighting of the battle of the
Wilderness, one of the greatest struggles in history. It was
Grant's first experience in the East, and his trial measure of
arms with his great antagonist, General Lee. The latter re
turned to his entrenchments and the Federals remained in their
position. The first clash had been undecisive. While Grant
had been defeated in his plan to pass around Lee, yet he had
made a new record for the Army of the Potomac, and he was
not turned from his purpose of putting himself between the
Army of Northern Virginia and the capital of the Confed
eracy. During the two days' engagement, there were ten hours
of actual fighting, with a loss in killed and wounded of about
seventeen thousand Union and nearly twelve thousand Con
federates, nearly three thousand men sacrificed each hour. It
is the belief of some military writers that Lee deliberately
chose the Wilderness as a battle-ground, as it would effectually
conceal great inferiority of force, but if this be so he seems to
have come to share the unanimous opinions of the generals of
both sides that its difficulties were unsurmountable, and within
his entrenchments he awaited further attack. It did not come.

The next night, May 7th, Grant's march by the Confed
erate right flank was resumed, but only to be blocked again
by the dogged determination of the tenacious antagonist, a
few miles beyond, at Spotsylvania. Lee again anticipated
Grant's move. It is not strange that the minds of these two
men moved along the same lines in military strategy, when
we remember they were both military experts of the highest
order, and were now working out the same problem. The
results obtained by each are told in the story of the battle of
Spotsylvania.

PART I
GRANT VERSUS LEE

SPOTSYLVANIA AND THE
BLOODY ANGLE

QUARLES MILL, NORTH ANNA HIVEK — THE GOAL AFTEK
SPOTSYLVANIA

But to Spotsylvania history will accord the palm, I am sure, for hav
ing furnished an unexampled muzzle-to-muzzle fire ; the longest roll of
incessant, unbroken musketry; the most splendid exhibition of individual
heroism and personal daring by large numbers, who, standing in the
freshly spilt blood of their fellows, faced for so long a period and at so
short a range the flaming rifles as they heralded the decrees of death.
This heroism Avas confined to neither side. It was exhibited by both
armies, and in that hand-to-hand struggle for the possession of the breast
works it seemed almost universal. It would be commonplace truism to
say that such examples will not be lost to the Republic. — General John 1$.
Gordon, C.S.A., m "Reminiscences of the Civil War.'1''

IMMEDIATELY after the cessation of hostilities on the
6th of May in the Wilderness, Grant determined to move
his army to Spotsylvania Court House, and to start the wagon
trains on the afternoon of the 7th. Grant's object was, by a
flank move, to get between Lee and Richmond. Lee foresaw
Grant's purpose and also moved his cavalry, under Stuart,
across the opponent's path. As an illustration of the exact
science of war we see the two great military leaders racing
for position at Spotsylvania Court House. It was revealed
later that Lee had already made preparations on this field a
year before, in anticipation of its being a possible battle
ground.

Apprised of the movement of the Federal trains, Lee,
with his usual sagacious foresight, surmised their destination.
He therefore ordered General R. H. Anderson, now in com
mand of Longstreet's corps, to march to Spotsylvania Court
House at three o'clock on the morning of the 8th. But the
smoke and flames from the burning forests that surrounded

[52]

EVIEWS co.

SPOTSYLVANIA COURT HOI SE

WHERE GRANT WANTED TO "FIGHT IT OUT'

For miles around this quaint old village-pump surged the lines of two vast con
tending armies, May 8-12, 1864. In this picture of only a few months later, the
inhabitants have returned to their accustomed quiet, although the reverberations
of battle have hardly died away. But on May 7th Generals Grant and Meade,
with their staffs, had started toward the little courthouse. As they passed along
the Brock Road in the rear of Hancock's lines, the men broke into loud hurrahs.
They saw that the movement was still to be southward. But chance had caused
Lee to choose the same objective. Misinterpreting Grant's movement as a retreat
upon Fredericksburg, he sent Longstreet's corps, now commanded by Anderson,
to Spotsylvania. Chance again, in the form of a forest fire, drove Anderson to
make, on the night of May 7th, the march from the Wilderness that he had been
ordered to commence on the morning of the 8th. On that day, while Warren was
contending with the forces of Anderson, Lee's whole army was entrenching on
a ridge around Spotsylvania Court House. "Accident," says Grant, "often
decides the fate of battle." But this "accident" was one of Lee's master moves.

potayhianta anJi tlj? IHloo&y

May
1864

Anderson's camp in the Wilderness made the position unten-
ahle, and the march was begun at eleven o'clock on the night
of the 7th. This early start proved of inestimable value to
the Confederates. Anderson's right, in the Wilderness, rested
opposite Hancock's left, and the Confederates secured a more
direct line of march to Spotsylvania, several miles shorter than
that of the Federals. The same night General Ewell at the
extreme Confederate left was ordered to followr Anderson at
daylight, if he found no large force in his front. This order
was followed out, there being no opposing troops, and the
corps took the longest route of any of Lee's troops. General
Ewell found the march exhausting and distressing on account
of the intense heat and dust and smoke from the burning
forests.

The Federal move toward Spotsylvania Court House was
begun after dark on the 7th. Warren's corps, in the lead, took
the Brock road behind Hancock's position and was followed
by Sedgwick, who marched by way of Chancellorsville. Burn-
side came next, but he was halted to guard the trains. Han
cock, covering the move, did not start the head of his command
until some time after daylight. When Warren reached Todd's
Tavern he found the Union cavalry under Merritt in conflict
with Fitzhugh Lee's division of Stuart's cavalry. Warren
sent Robinson's division ahead; it drove Fitzhugh Lee back,
and, advancing rapidly, met the head of Anderson's troops.
The leading brigades came to the assistance of the cavalry;
Warren was finally repulsed and began entrenching. The
Confederates gained Spotsylvania Court House.

Throughout the day there was continual skirmishing be
tween the troops, as the Northerners attempted to break the
line of the Confederates. But the men in gray stood firm.
Every advance of the blue was repulsed. Lee again blocked
the way of Grant's move. The Federal loss during the day
had been about thirteen hundred, while the Confederates lost
fewer men than their opponents.

MEADE AND SEDGWICK— BEFORE THE ADVANCE THAT BROUGHT SEDGWICK'S

DEATH AT SPOTSYLVANIA

To the right of General Meade, his chief and friend, stands Major-General John Sedgwick, commanding
the Sixth Army Corps. He wears his familiar round hat and is smiling. He was a great tease; evidently
the performances of the civilian who had brought his new-fangled photographic apparatus into camp sug
gested a joke. A couple of months later, on the 9th of May, Sedgwick again was jesting — before Spot-
sylvania Court House. McMahon of his staff had begged him to avoid passing some artillery exposed to
the Confederate fire, to which Sedgwick had playfully replied, "McMahon, I would like to know who
commands this corps, you or I?" Then he ordered some infantry before him to shift toward the right.
Their movement drew the fire of the Confederates. The lines were close together; the situation tense. A
sharpshooter's bullet whistled — Sedgwick fell. He was taken to Meade's headquarters. The Army of
the Potomac had lost another corps commander, and the Union a brilliant and courageous soldier.

Augl?

The work of both was now the construction of entrench
ments, which consisted of earthworks sloping to either side,
with logs as a parapet, and between these works and the op
posing army were constructed what are known as abatis, felled
trees, with the branches cut off, the sharp ends projecting
toward the approaching forces.

Lee's entrenchments were of such character as to increase
the efficiency of his force. They were formed in the shape
of a huge V with the apex flattened, forming a salient angle
against the center of the Federal line. The Confederate lines
were facing north, northwest, and northeast, the corps com
manded by Anderson on the left, Ewell in the center, and
Early on the right, the latter temporarily replacing A. P.
Hill, who was ill. The Federals confronting them were Burn-
side on the left, Sedgwick and Warren in the center, and
Hancock on the right.

The day of the 9th was spent in placing the lines of
troops, with no fighting except skirmishing and some sharp-
shooting. While placing some field-pieces, General Sedgwick
was hit by a sharpshooter's bullet and instantly killed. He
was a man of high character, a most competent commander,
of fearless courage, loved and lamented by the army. Gen
eral Horatio G. Wright succeeded to the command of the
Sixth Corps.

Early on the morning of the 10th, the Confederates dis
covered that Hancock had crossed the Po River in front of
his position of the day before and was threatening their rear.
Grant had suspected that Eee was about to move north toward
Fredericksburg, and Hancock had been ordered to make a
reconnaissance with a view to attacking and turning the Con
federate left. But difficulties stood in the way of Hancock's
performance, and before he had accomplished much, Meade
directed him to send two of his divisions to assist Warren in
making an attack on the Southern lines. The Second Corps
started to recross the Po. Before all were over Earlv made

THE APEX OF THE BATTLEFIELD
McCool's house, within the "Bloody Angle." The photographs Flushed with success, the Federals pressed on to Lee's second

were taken in 1864, shortly after the struggle of Spotsylvania
Court House, and show the old dwelling as it was on May 12th,
when the fighting was at flood tide all round it; and below, the
Confederate entrenchments near that blood-drenched spot. At
a point in these Confederate lines in advance of the McCool
house, the entrenchments had been
thrown forward like the salient of a
fort, and the wedge-shaped space
within them was destined to become
renowned as the "Bloody Angle."
The position was defended by the
famous "Stonewall Division" of the
Confederates under command of Gen
eral Edward Johnson. It was near
the scene of Upton's gallant charge on
Hie 10th. Here at daybreak on May
Hth the divisions of the intrepid Bar-

( ON FEDERATE EXTREXCHM EXTS NEAR
"BLOODY ANGLE"

line of works, where Wilcox's division of the Confederates held
them until re enforcements sent by Lee from Hill and Anderson
drove them back. On the Federal side the Sixth Corps, with
Upton's brigade in the advance, was hurried forward to hold the
advantage gained. But Lee himself was on the scene, and the
men of the gallant Gordon's division,
pausing long enough to seize and turn
his horse, with shouts of "General
Lee in the rear," hurtled forward into
the conflict. In five separate charges
by the Confederates the fighting came
to close quarters. With bayonets,
clubbed muskets, swords and pistols,
men fought within two feel of one an
other on either side of the entrench
ments at "Bloody Angle" till night at
last left it in possession of the Fed-

low and Birney, sent forward by Hancock, stole a march upon ends. Xone of the fighting near Spotsylvania Court House was

the unsuspecting Confederates. Leaping over the breastworks inglorious. On the 10th, after a day of strengthening positions on

the Federals were upon them and the first of the terrific hand- both sides, young Colonel Emory Upton of the 121st Xew York, led

to-hand conflicts that marked the day began. It ended in victory a storming party of twelve regiments into the strongest of the

for Hancock's men, into whose hands fell 20 cannon, .'50 standards Confederate entrenchments. For his bravery Grant made him a

and 4,000 prisoners, "the best division in the Confederate army." brigadier-general on the field.

a vigorous assault on the rear division, which did not escape
without heavy loss. In this engagement the corps lost the
first gun in its most honorable career, a misfortune deeply
lamented by every man in the corps, since up to this moment
it had long been the only one in the entire army which could
make the proud claim of never having lost a gun or a color.

But the great event of the 10th was the direct assault
upon the Confederate front. Meade had arranged for Han
cock to take charge of this, and the appointed hour was five
in the afternoon. But Warren reported earlier that the op
portunity was most favorable, and he was ordered to start at
once. Wearing his full uniform, the leader of the Fifth Corps
advanced at a quarter to four with the greater portion of his
troops. The progress of the valiant Northerners was one of
the greatest difficulty, owing to the dense wood of low cedar-
trees through which they had to make their way. Longstreet's
corps behind their entrenchments acknowledged the advance
with very heavy artillery and musket fire. But Warren's
troops did not falter or pause until some had reached the
abatis and others the very crest of the parapet. A few, indeed,
were actually killed inside the works. All, however, who sur
vived the terrible ordeal were finally driven back with heavy
loss. General James C. Rice \vas mortally wounded.

To the left of Warren, General Wright had observed
what he believed to be a vulnerable spot in the Confederate
entrenchments. Behind this particular place was stationed
Doles' brigade of Georgia regiments, and Colonel Emory
Upton was ordered to charge Doles with a column of twelve
regiments in four lines. The ceasing of the Federal artillery
at six o'clock was the signal for the charge, and twenty min
utes later, as Upton tells us, " at command, the lines rose,
moved noiselessly to the edge of the wood, and then, with a
wild cheer and faces averted, rushed for the works. Through
a terrible front and flank fire the column advanced quickly,
gaining the parapet. Here occurred a deadly hand-to-hand

[58]

UNION ARTILLERY MASSING
FOR THE ADVANCE THAT
EWELL'S ATTACK DELAYED
THAT SAME AFTERNOON

BEVERLY HOUSE, MAY 18, 1864

The artillery massing in the meadow gives to this view the interest of an impending tragedy. In the foreground
the officers, servants, and orderlies of the headquarters mess camp are waiting for the command to strike their
tents, pack the wagons, and move on. But at the very time this photograph was taken they should have been
miles away. Grant had issued orders the day before that should have set these troops in motion. However, the
Confederate General Ewell had chosen the IStli to make an attack on the right flank. It not only delayed the
departure hut forced a change in the intended positions of the division as they had been contemplated by the
commander-in-chief. Beverly House is where General Warren pitched his headquarters after Spotsylvania,
and the spectator is looking toward the battlefield that lies beyond the distant woods. After Ewell's attack,
Warren again found himself on the right flank, and at this very moment the main body of the Federal army is
passing in the rear of him. The costly check at Spotsylvania, with its wonderful display of fighting on both
sides, had in its apparently fruitless results called for the display of all Grant's gifts as a military leader. It
takes but little imagination to supply color to this photograph; it is full of it — full of the movement and detail
of war also. It is springtime; blossoms have just left the trees and the whole country is green and smiling, but
the earth is scarred by thousands of trampling feet and hoof-prints. I "gly ditches cross the landscape; the debris
of an army marks its onsweep from one battlefield to another.

•*•

conflict. The enemy, sitting in their pits with pieces upright,
loaded, and with bayonets fixed ready to impale the first who
should leap over, absolutely refused to yield the ground. The
first of our men who tried to surmount the works fell, pierced
through the head by musket-balls. Others, seeing the fate of
their comrades, held their pieces at arm's length and fired
downward, while others, poising their pieces vertically, hurled
them down upon their enemy, pinning them to the ground.
. . . The struggle lasted but a few seconds. Xumbers pre
vailed, and like a resistless wave, the column poured over the
works, quickly putting hors dc combat those who resisted and
sending to the rear those who surrendered. Pressing forward
and expanding to the right and left, the second line of
entrenchments, its line of battle, and a battery fell into our
hands. The column of assault had accomplished its task."

The Confederate line had been shattered and an opening
made for expected support. This, however, failed to arrive.
General Mott, on the left, did not bring his division forward
as had been planned and as General Wright had ordered.
The Confederates were reenforced, and Upton could do no
more than hold the captured entrenchments until ordered to
retire. He brought twelve hundred prisoners and several
stands of colors back to the Union lines; but over a thousand
of his own men were killed or wounded. For gallantry dis
played in this charge, Colonel Upton was made brigadier-
general.

The losses to the Union army in this engagement at
Spotsylvania were over four thousand. The loss to the Con
federates was probably two thousand.

During the llth there was a pause. The two giant an
tagonists took a breathing spell. It was on the morning of this
date that Grant penned the sentence, " I propose to fight it
out on this line if it takes all summer," to his chief of staff,
General TIalleck.

During this time Sheridan, who had brought the cavalry

[60]

May
1 8(J4-

THE ONES WHO NEVER CAME BACK

These are some of the men for whom waiting women wept — the ones who never came back. They be
longed to Swell's Corps, who attacked the Federal lines so gallantly on May 18th. There may be some who
will turn from this picture with a shudder of horror, but it is no morbid curiosity that will cause them to
study it closely. If pictures such as this were familiar everywhere there would soon be an end of war. We
can realize money by seeing it expressed in figures; we can realize distances by miles, but some things in
their true meaning can only be grasped and impressions formed with the seeing eye. Visualizing only
this small item of the awful cost — the cost beside which money cuts no figure — an idea can be gained of what
war is. Here is a sermon in the cause of universal peace. The handsome lad lying with outstretched
arms and clinched fingers is a mute plea. Death has not disfigured him— he lies in an attitude of relaxa
tion and composure. Perhaps in some Southern home this same face is pictured in the old family album,
alert and full of life and hope, and here is the end. Does there not come to the mind the insistent question,
"Why?" The Federal soldiers standing in the picture are not thinking of all this, it may be true, but
had they meditated in the way that some may, as they gaze at this record of death, it would be worth their
while. One of the men is apparently holding a sprig of blossoms in his hand. It is a strange note here.

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up to a state of great efficiency, was making an expedition to
the vicinity of Richmond. He had said that if he were per
mitted to operate independently of the army he would draw
Stuart after him. Grant at once gave the order, and Sheridan
made a detour around Lee's army, engaging and defeating
the Confederate cavalry, which he greatly outnumbered, on
the llth of May, at Yellow Tavern, where General Stuart,
the brilliant commander of the Confederate cavalry, was mor
tally wounded.

Grant carefully went over the ground and decided upon
another attack on the 12th. About four hundred yards of
clear ground lay in front of the sharp angle, or salient, of Lee's
lines. After the battle this point was known as the " Bloody
Angle," and also as " Hell's Hole." Here Hancock was
ordered to make an attack at daybreak on the 12th. Lee had
been expecting a move on the part of Grant. On the evening
of the 10th he sent to Ewell this message: " It will be neces
sary for you to reestablish your whole line to-night. . . .
Perhaps Grant will make a night attack, as it was a favorite
amusement of his at Vicksburg."

Through rain and mud Hancock's force was gotten into
position within a few hundred yards of the Confederate breast
works. He was now between Burnside and Wright. At the
first approach of dawn the four divisions of the Second Corps,
under Birney, Mott, Barlow, and Gibbon (in reserve) moved
noiselessly to the designated point of attack. Without a shot
being fired they reached the Confederate entrenchments, and
struck with fury and impetuosity a mortal blow at the point
where least expected, on the salient, held by General Edward
Johnson of Ewell's corps. The movement of the Federals
was so swift and the surprise so complete, that the Confed
erates could make practically no resistance, and were forced
to surrender.

The artillery had been withdrawn from the earthworks
occupied by Johnson's troops on the previous night, but

COPVRIGHT, tail, PATRIOT PUB. CO.

DIGGING A LONELY GRAVE— AFTER SPOTSYLVANIA

If we should take out the grim reminder of war's horrors, the
dead man on the litter with the stiff upturned arms, we should
have a charming picture of a little Virginia farm, a cozy little
house with its blossoming peach trees in the garden and the big
China berry tree shading the front yard. Hut within a stone's
throw lie scores of huddled heaps
distressing to gaze upon. Only a
few hours before they had been
living, breathing, fighting men;
for here occurred Swell's fierce
attack on the 18th of May. The
little farm belonged to a widow
by the name of Allsop, and the
garden and the ground back of
the barns and outbuildings be
came a Confederate cemetery.
Soldiers grow callous to the work
of putting friends and foemen to
rest for the last long sleep. Evi
dently this little squad of the
burying detail have discovered
that this man is an officer, and

instead of putting him in the long trench where his comrades rest
with elbows touching in soldierly alignment, they are giving him a
grave by himself. Down at a fence corner on the Allsop farm
they found the dead Confederate of the smaller photograph.
He was of the never-surrender type, this man in the ragged gray

uniform, one of the do or die
kind that the bullets find most
often. Twice wounded before
his dauntless spirit left him was
this gallant fellow; with a shat
tered leg that he had tied about
hastily with a cotton shirt, he
still fought on, firing from where
he lay until he could see no longer,
and he fell back and slowly bled
to death from the ghastly wound
in the shoulder. There was no
mark on him to tell his name; he
was just one of E well's men, and
became merely a number on the
tally sheet that showed the
score of the game of war.

JUST "ONE OF SWELL'S MEN"

aui ih? KUurftg Auijl? •$• •$•

May
1864

developments had led to an order to have it returned early in
the morning. It was approaching as the attack was made.
Before the artillerymen could escape or turn the guns upon
the Federals, every cannon had been captured. General John
son with almost his whole division, numbering about three
thousand, and General Steuart, were captured, between twenty
and thirty colors, and several thousand stands of arms were
taken. Hancock had already distinguished himself as a leader
of his soldiers, and from his magnificent appearance, noble
bearing, and courage had been called " Hancock the Superb,"
but this was the most brilliant of his military achievements.

Pressing onward across the first defensive line of the
Confederates, Hancock's men advanced against the second
series of trenches, nearly half a mile beyond. As the Federals
pushed through the muddy fields they lost all formation.
They reached close to the Confederate line. The Southerners
were prepared for the attack. A volley poured into the throng
of blue, and General Gordon with his reserve division rushed
forward, fighting desperately to drive the Northerners back.
As they did so General Lee rode up, evidently intending to
go forward with Gordon. His horse was seized by one of the
soldiers, and for the second time in the campaign the cry arose
from the ranks, " Lee to the rear! " The beloved commander
was led back from the range of fire, while the men, under the
inspiration of his example, rushed forward in a charge that
drove the Federals back until they had reached the outer line
of works. Here they fought stubbornly at deadly range.
Neither side was able to force the other back. But Gordon
was not able to cope with the entire attack. Wright and War
ren both sent some of their divisions to reenforce Hancock,
and Lee sent all the assistance possible to the troops struggling
so desperately to restore his line at the salient.

Many vivid and picturesque descriptions of this fighting
at the angle have been written, some by eye-witnesses, others
by able historians, but no printed page, no cold type can

[64]

;..

77~?r,

^&**§

IX ONE LONG BURIAL TRENCH

It fell to the duty of the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery of General Tyler's division to put under ground the men they slew in
the sharp battle of May 18th, and here they are near Mrs. Allsop's barn digging the trench to hide the dreadful work of bullet and
shot and shell. No feeling of bitterness exists in moments such as these. What soldier in the party knows but what it may be his
turn next to lie beside other lumps of clay and join his earth-mother in this same fashion in his turn. But men become used to work
of any kind, and these men digging up the warm spring soil, when their labor is concluded, are neither oppressed nor nerve-shattered
by what they have seen and done. They have lost the power of experiencing sensation. Senses become numbed in a measure; the
value of life itself from close and constant association with death is minimized almost to the vanishing point. In half an hour these
very men may be singing and laughing as if war and death were only things to be expected, not reasoned over in the least.

ONE OF THE FEARLESS CONFEDERATES

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•$•

May
1864

convey to the mind the realities of that terrible conflict. The
results were appalling. The whole engagement was prac
tically a hand-to-hand contest. The dead lay beneath the feet
of the living, three and four layers deep. This hitherto quiet
spot of earth was devastated and covered with the slain, wel
tering in their own blood, mangled and shattered into scarcely
a semblance of human form. Dying men were crushed by
horses and many, buried beneath the mire and mud, still lived.
Some artillery was posted on high ground not far from the
apex of the salient, and an incessant fire was poured into the
Confederate works over the Union lines, while other guns kept
up an enfilade of canister along the west of the salient.

The contest from the right of the Sixth to the left of the
Second Corps was kept up throughout the day along the
whole line. Repeatedly the trenches had to be cleared of the
dead. An oak tree twenty-two inches in diameter was cut
down by musket-balls. Men leaped upon the breastworks,
firing until shot down.

The battle of the " angle " is said to have been the most
awful in duration and intensity in modern times. Battle-line
after battle-line, bravely obeying orders, was annihilated. The
entrenchments were shivered and shattered, trunks of trees
carved into split brooms. Sometimes the contestants came so
close together that their muskets met, muzzle to muzzle, and
their flags almost intertwined with each other as they waved
in the breeze. As they fought with the desperation of madmen,
the living would stand on the bodies of the dead to reach over
the breastworks with their weapons of slaughter. Lee hurled
his army with unparalleled vigor against his opponent five
times during the day, but each time was repulsed. Until three
o'clock the next morning the slaughter continued, when the
Confederates sank back into their second line of entrenchments,
leaving their opponents where they had stood in the morning.

All the fighting on the 12th was not done at the " Bloody

Angle." Burnside on the left of Hancock engaged Early's

[r>6l

} ^-- ~\. '

BETHEL CHURCH— WAITING FOR ORDERS

The counors lounging around the church door will soon be galloping away with orders; for it is the 2.'5d of May, and, the afternoon
before, Burnside, with his Ninth Corps, arrived and took up his headquarters here, within ten miles of the North Anna. In the "sidling"
movement, as the Confederate soldiers called it, begun by Grant on May 19th, the corps of Hancock and Warren were pressing forward
co Gniney's Station through a strange country, over roads unknown to them, while the corps of Burnside and \\ right were still demon
strating against the Confederates at Spotsylvania. Here was an opportunity for Lee to take the initiative, and with his whole force
either attack Wright and Burnside, or, pushing forward by the Telegraph Road, strike Hancock alone, or at most Hancock and Warren.
But Lee, fearing perhaps to risk a general contest, remained strictly on the defensive, moving his troops out along the Telegraph Road
to make sure of keeping between his adversary and Richmond. Meanwhile, Burnside, followed by Wright, marched on the evening of
the 21st, and next day came up with Grant's headquarters at Guiney's Station. Here he found Grant sitting on the porch, reading
the despatch that told of Sherman's capture of Kingston, Georgia, and his crossing of the Etowah River. Burnside was ordered for
ward to Bethel Church and thence to Ox Ford, on the North Anna, thereon the 24th to be held in check by Lee's faultless formation.

jmteyluaum

Attgfc

troops and was defeated, while on the other side of the salient
Wright succeeded in driving Anderson back.

The question has naturally arisen why that " salient "
was regarded of such vital importance as to induce the two
chief commanders to force their armies into such a hand-to-
hand contest that must inevitably result in unparalleled and
wholesale slaughter. It was manifest, however, that Grant
had shown generalship in finding the weak point in Lee's line
for attack. It was imperative that he hold the gain made by
his troops. Lee could ill afford the loss resistance would entail,
but he could not withdraw his army during the day without
disaster.

The men on both sides seemed to comprehend the gravity
of the situation, that it was a battle to the death for that little
point of entrenchment. Without urging by officers, and some
times without officers, they fell into line and fought and bled
and died in myriads as though inspired by some unseen power.
Here men rushed to their doom with shouts of courage and
eagerness.

The pity of it all was manifested by the shocking scene
on that battlefield the next day. Piles of dead lay around
the " Bloody Angle," a veritable " Hell's Hole " on both sides
of the entrenchments, four layers deep in places, shattered and
torn by bullets and hoofs and clubbed muskets, while beneath
the layers of dead, it is said, there could be seen quivering
limbs of those who still lived.

General Grant was deeply moved at the terrible loss of
life. When he expressed his regret for the heavy sacrifice of
men to General Meade, the latter replied, " General, we can't
do these little tricks without heavy losses." The total loss to
the Union army in killed, wounded, and missing at Spotsyl-
vania was nearly eighteen thousand. The Confederate losses
have never been positively known, but from the best available
sources of information the number has been placed at not less
than fifteen thousand. Lee's loss in high officers was very

May
1864

THE REDOUBT THAT LEE LET GO

This redoubt covered Taylor's Bridge, but its flanks were swept by artillery and an enfilading fire
from rifle-pits across the river. Late in the evening of the 23d, Hancock's corps, arriving before the
redoubt, had assaulted it with two brigades and easily carried it. During the night the Confederates
from the other side made two attacks upon the bridge and finally succeeded in setting it afire. The
flames were extinguished by the Federals, and on the 24th Hancock's troops crossed over without oppo
sition. The easy crossing of the Federals here was but another example of Lee's favorite rule to let his
antagonist attack him on the further side of a stream. Taylor's Bridge could easily have been held by
Lee for a much longer time, but its ready abandonment was part of the tactics by which Grant was being
led into a military dilemma. In the picture the Federal soldiers confidently hold the captured redoubt,
convinced that the possession of it meant that they had driven Lee to his last corner.

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May

1864

severe, the killed including General Daniel and General Per-
rin, while Generals Walker, Ramseur, R. 1). Johnston, and
McGowan were severely wounded. In addition to the loss of
these important commanders, Lee was further crippled in
efficient commanders by the capture of Generals Edward John
son and Steuart. The Union loss in high officers was light,
excepting General Sedgwick on the 9th. General Webb was
wounded, and Colonel Coon, of the Second Corps, was killed.

Lee's forces had be.en handled with such consummate skill
as to make them count one almost for two, and there was the
spirit of devotion for Lee among his soldiers which was indeed
practically hero-worship. All in all, he had an army, though
shattered and worn, that was almost unconquerable. Grant
found that ordinary methods of war, even such as he had ex
perienced in the West, were not applicable to the Army of
Northern Virginia. The only hope for the Union army was
a long-drawn-out process, and with larger numbers, better
kept, and more often relieved, Grant's army would ultimately
make that of Lee's succumb, from sheer exhaustion and dis
integration.

The battle was not terminated on the 12th. During the
next five days there was a continuous movement of the LTnion
corps to the east which was met by a corresponding readjust
ment of the Confederate lines. After various maneuvers,
Hancock was ordered to the point where the battle was fought
on the 12th, and on the 18th and 19th, the last effort was made
to break the lines of the Confederates. Ewell, however, drove
the Federals back and the next day he had a severe engage
ment with the Union left wing, while endeavoring to find out
something of Grant's plans.

Twelve days of active effort were thus spent in skirmish
ing, fighting, and countermarching. In the last two engage
ments the Union losses were nearly two thousand, which are
included in those before stated. It was decided to abandon the
attempt to dislodge Lee from his entrenchments, and to move

[70]

EVIEW OF REVIEWS CO

''WALK YOUR HORSES"

ONE OF THE GRIM JOKES OF WAR

AS PLAYED AT

CHESTERFIELD BRIDGE, NORTH ANNA

The sign posted by the local authorities at Taylor's bridge, where the Telegraph Road crosses the North
Anna, was "Walk your horses." The wooden structure was referred to by the military as Chesterfield
bridge. Here Hancock's Corps arrived toward evening of May L23d, and the Confederate entrenchments,
showing in the foreground, were seized by the old "Berry Brigade." In the heat of the charge the Ninety-
third New York carried their colors to the middle of the bridge, driving off the Confederates before they
could destroy it. When the Federals began crossing next day they had to run the gantlet of musketry
and artillery fire from the opposite bank. Several regiments of New York heavy artillery poured across the
structure at the double-quick with the hostile shells bursting about their heads. When Captain Sleeper's
Eighteenth Massachusetts battery began crossing, the Confederate cannoneers redoubled their efforts to
blow up the ammunition by well-aimed shots. Sleeper passed over only one piece at a time in order to
diminish the target and enforce the observance of the local law by walking his horses! The Second Corps
got no further than the ridge beyond, where Lee's strong V formation held it from further advance.

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to the North Anna River. On the 20th of May the march
was resumed. The men had suffered great hardships from
hunger, exposure, and incessant action, and many would fall
asleep on the line of march.

On the day after the start, Hancock crossed the Matta-
pony River at one point and Warren at another. Hancock
was ordered to take position on the right bank and, if prac
ticable, to attack the Confederates wherever found. By the
22d, Wright and Burnside came up and the march proceeded.
But the vigilant Lee had again detected the plans of his
adversary.

Meade's army had barely started in its purpose to turn
the Confederates' flank when the Southern forces were on the
way to block the army of the North. As on the march from
the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, Lee's troops took the shorter
route, along main roads, and reached the North Anna ahead
of the Federals. Warren's corps was the first of Meade's
army to arrive at the north bank of the river, which it did on
the afternoon of May 23d. Lee was already on the south
bank, but Warren crossed without opposition. No sooner
had he gotten over, however, than he was attacked by the Con
federates and a severe but undecisive engagement followed.
The next morning (the 24th) Hancock and Wright put their
troops across at places some miles apart, and before these two
wings of the army could be joined, Lee made a brilliant stroke
by marching in between them, forming a wedge whose point
rested on the bank, opposite the Union center, under Burnside,
which had not yet crossed the river.

The Army of the Potomac was now in three badly sepa
rated parts. Burnside could not get over in sufficient strength
to reenforce the wings, and all attempts by the latter to aid
him in so doing met with considerable disaster. The loss in
these engagements approximated two thousand on each side.

On the 25th, Sheridan and his cavalry rejoined the army.
They had been gone since the 9th and their raid was most

[72]

WHERE GRANT FOUND OUT HIS MISTAKE

At those white tents above Quarles' Mill clam sits Grant, at his "General Headquarters" on the 24th of
May, and he has found out too late that Lee has led him into a trap. The Army of Northern Virginia
had beaten him in the race for the North Anna, and it was found strongly entrenched on the south side of
the stream. The corps of Warren and Wright had crossed at Jericho Mills a mile above Quarles' Mill, and
Hancock's crossing had been effected so easily at the wooden bridge just below Quarles' Mill. Grant had
reenforced both wings of his army before he discovered that it was divided. Lee's lines stretched south
ward in the form of a V, with the apex resting close to the river. The great strategist had folded back his
flanks to let in Grant's forces on either side. This and the following pictures form a unique series of illus
trations in panorama of the futile crossing of the North Anna by the Federals.

THE UNDISPUTED CROSSING
AT NORTH ANNA

These pictures show the pontoon-bridge laid
for. the crossing of the corps of Warren and
Wright at Jericho Ford, about four miles far
ther upstream than the Chesterfield or Tay
lor's bridge. The Federals met with no oppo
sition at this crossing, their sharpshooters being
able to keep off the Confederates, while the
pontonniers were at work. In the two upper
pictures the old Jericho Mill stands on the north
bank. On the eminence above it is the Gentry
house and other dwellings, past which the am
munition-train is winding down the road to the
crossing. Warren's Fifth Corps was soon to
need its ammunition. The infantry were all
across by 4:30 in the afternoon of May 23d and,
advancing over the ground seen in the lower
picture, formed their lines on the edge of a
wood half a mile beyond the south bank. The
artillery was posted on the ridge. Before
Warren could get into position Lee sent the
whole of Hill's Corps against him. A brigade
of Cutler's division wras forced back, but after
some sharp fighting the Confederates were
driven back into their trenches, leaving many
killed and wounded, and five hundred prisoners.

THE REAR-GUARD

Thus the Federals held the approaches to their pontoon-bridge at Jericho Mill during the sultry days of May (24-26) while Grant was
making up his mind that Lee's position could not be successfully attacked. The corps of Warren and Wright have all crossed the
bridge, followed by the wagon-trains. Guards have been posted on either bank. The felled timber on the north bank was cut so as
to allow the Federal reserve artillery to command the bridge. At either end sit two sentinels ready to challenge perfunctorily any
straggler who may pass. The rest of the men have stacked arms and given themselves up to idleness, stretching their improvised
shelters to shield them from the broiling sun. One man by the old mill is bathing his feet, weary with the long march.

THE CAPTURED REDAN
AND THE BRIDGE

Across this insecure foot-bridge Hancock's
troop had to pass in the attack on the Con
federate works which commanded Taylor's
bridge on the North Anna. A tongue of
land formed by the junction of Long Creek
with the larger stream was the position
chosen for the redan which is seen topping
the ridge in the upper picture. Birney's
division advanced across the bare and bar
ren plain of the little peninsula, and pressing
across the shaky little foot-bridge at the
double-quick, swept up the sharp height seen
in the picture above, while three sections of
Tidball's battery covered the assault of
Pierce and Egan. As their line approached,
the Confederates abandoned the redan and
fled. The Federals, digging footholds in the
parapet with their bayonets, clambered up
and planted their colors. In taking the
lower picture the camera was placed within
the Confederate works looking toward the
ground over which the Federals approached.
The fresh earthworks in the foreground
were hastily thrown up to strengthen the
redan, which was originally built during the
Chancellorsville campaign.

WHERE THE BATTLE-LINE WENT
OVER

On the pontoon-bridge in the lower picture
crossed Smyth's division of the Second Corps
on the morning of May 24th. Forming in line
of battle on the south bank, they advanced and
carried the Confederate works that commanded
Taylor's or the Chesterfield bridge above.
The Confederates at once brought up reen-
forcements and attacked Smyth, who, also re-
enforced, held his position during a furious
rain-storm until dark. Until the pontoons
were laid, Grant could not get his army across
the North Anna in sufficient force to make the
attack he contemplated. The lower picture
shows one of the two pontoon-bridges laid be
low Taylor's bridge so that its defenders could
be driven off and the Federal troops enabled to
use it. The railroad bridge below Taylor's
had been destroyed, but still farther down
stream was an old foot-bridge. A short dis
tance above here the pontoons were laid. They
can be seen in the upper picture beyond the
pontonniers in the foreground, who are at work
strengthening the foot-bridge so that it, too,
can be used for the passage of the troops that
were to retreat from the embarrassing pre
dicament into which Lee had lured them.

jmtatjluama anil tit? Mno&g Attglr

May
1864

successful. Besides the decisive victory over the Confederate
cavalry at Yellow Tavern, they had destroyed several depots
of supplies, four trains of cars, and many miles of railroad
track. Nearly four hundred Federal prisoners on their way
to Richmond had been rescued from their captors. The dash
ing cavalrymen had even carried the first line of work around
Richmond, and had made a detour down the James to com
municate with General Butler. Grant was highly satisfied
with Sheridan's performance. It had been of the greatest
assistance to him, as it had drawn off the whole of the Con
federate cavalry, and made the guarding of the wagon trains
an easy matter.

But here, on the banks of the North Anna, Grant had
been completely checkmated by Lee. He realized this and
decided on a new move, although he still clung to his idea of
turning the Confederate right. The Federal wings were with
drawn to the north side of the river during the night of May
2(>th and the whole set in motion for the Pamunkey River at
Hanovertown. TWTO divisions of Sheridan's cavalry and War
ren's corps were in advance. Lee lost no time in pursuing his
great antagonist, but for the first time the latter was able to
hold his lead. Along the Totopotomoy, on the afternoon of
May 28th, infantry and cavalry of both armies met in a
severe engagement in which the strong position of Lee's troops
again foiled Grant's purpose. The Union would have to try
at some other point, and on the 31st Sheridan's cavalry took
possession of Cold Harbor. This was to be the next battle
ground.

78]

PART I
GRANT VERSUS LEE

COLD HARBOR

WAITING THE WORD FOR THE COLD HARBOR FLANKING MARCH
UNION TROOPS REPULSED AT THE NORTH ANNA

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COLD HARBOR

Cold Harbor is, I think, the only battle I ever fought that I would not
fight over again under the circumstances. I have always regretted that
the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. — General U. S. Grant in
Ins " Memoirs.'1''

ACCORDING to Grant's well-made plans of march, the
various corps of the Army of the Potomac set out from
the banks of the North Anna on the night of May 2(>, 1804,
at the times and by the routes assigned to them. Early on
the morning of May 27th Lee set his force in motion by the
Telegraph road and such others as were available, across the
Little and South Anna rivers toward Ashland and Atlee's
Station on the Virginia Central Railroad.

Thus the armies were stretched like two live wires along
the swampy bottom-lands of eastern Virginia, and as they
came in contact, here and there along the line, there were
the inevitable sputterings of flame and considerable destruc
tion wrought. The advance Federal infantry crossed the
Pamunkey, after the cavalry, at Hanoverstown, early on May
28th. The Second Corps was close behind the Sixth; the Fifth
was over by noon, while the Ninth, now an integral portion of
the Army of the Potomac, passed the river by midnight.

On the 31st General Sheridan reached Cold Harbor,
which Meade had ordered him to hold at all hazards. This
place, probably named after the old home of some English
settler, was not a town but the meeting-place of several roads
of great strategic importance to the Federal army. They led
not only toward Richmond by the way of the upper Chicka-
hominy bridges, but in the direction of White House Landing,
on the Pamunkey River.

Both Lee and Meade had received reenforcements — the

[82]

READY FOR THE ADVANCE THAT LEE DRONE HACK

Between these luxuriant banks stretch the pontoons and bridges to facilitate the rapid crossing of the North Anna by Hancock's Corps
on May C24th. Thus was completed the passage to the south of the stream of the two wings of the Army of the Potomac. But when
the center under Burnside was driven back and severely handled at Ox Ford, Grant immediately detached a brigade each from Han
cock and Warren to attack the apex of Lee's wedge on the south bank of the river, but the position was too strong to justify the at
tempt. Then it dawned upon the Federal general-in-chief that Lee had cleaved the Army of the Potomac into two separated
bodies. To reenforce either wing would require two crossings of the river, while Lee could quickly march troops from one side to the
other within his impregnable wedge. As Grant put it in his report, " To make a direct attack from either wing would cause a slaughter
of our men that even succes: would not justify."

ttark anil Strpulsr at (Enift ifarlmr

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former by Breckinridge, and tlie scattered forces in western
Virginia, and by Pickett and Hoke from Xorth Carolina.
From Bermuda Hundred where General Butler was " bottled
up " —to use a phrase which Grant employed and afterward re
gretted — General W. F. Smith was ordered to bring the
Eighteenth Corps of the Army of the James to the assistance
of Meade, since Butler could defend his position perfectly
well with a small force, and coidd make no headway against
Beauregard with a large one. Grant had now nearly one
hundred and fourteen thousand troops and Lee about eighty
thousand.

Sheridan's appearance at Cold Harbor was resented in
vain by Fitzhugh Lee, and the next morning, June 1st, the
Sixth Corps arrived, followed by General Smith and ten
thousand men of the Eighteenth, who had hastened from the
landing-place at White House. These took position 011 the
right of the Sixth, and the Federal line was promptly faced
by Longstreet's corps, a part of A. P. Hill's, and the divisions
of Hoke and Breckinridge. At six o'clock in the afternoon
Wright and Smith advanced to the attack, which Hoke and
Kershaw received with courage and determination. The Con
federate line was broken in several places, but before night
checked the struggle the Southerners had in some degree re
gained their position. The short contest was a severe one for
the Federal side. Wright lost about twelve hundred men and
Smith one thousand.

The following day the final dispositions were made for
the mighty struggle that would decide Grant's last chance to
interpose between Lee and Richmond. Hancock and the Sec
ond Corps arrived at Cold Harbor and took position on the
left of General Wright. Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, was
placed near Bethesda Church on the road to Mechanicsville,
while Warren, with the Fifth, came to his left and connected
with Smith's right. Sheridan was sent to hold the lower
Chickahominy bridges and to cover the road to White House,

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which was now the base of supplies. On the Southern side
Kwell's corps, now commanded by General Early, faced Burn-
side's and Warren's. Longstreet's corps, still under Ander
son, was opposite Wright and Smith, while A. P. Hill, on
the extreme right, confronted Hancock. There was sharp
fighting during the entire day, but Early did not succeed in
getting upon the Federal right flank, as he attempted to do.

Both armies lay very close to each other and were well
entrenched. Lee was naturally strong on his right, and his
left was difficult of access, since it must be approached through
wooded swamps. Well-placed batteries made artillery fire
from front and both flanks possible, but Grant decided to
attack the whole Confederate front, and word was sent to the
corps commanders to assault at half-past four the following
morning.

The hot sultry weather of the preceding days had brought
much suffering. The movement of troops and wagons raised
clouds of dust which settled down upon the sweltering men
and beasts. But five o'clock on the afternoon of June 2d
brought the grateful rain, and this continued during the night,
giving great relief to the exhausted troops.

At the hour designated the Federal lines moved promptly
from their shallow rifle-pits toward the Confederate works.
The main assault was made by the Second, Sixth, and Eigh
teenth corps. With determined and firm step they started to
cross the space between the opposing entrenchments. The
silence of the dawning summer morning was broken by the
screams of musket-ball and canister and shell. That move of
the Federal battle-line opened the fiery furnace across the
intervening space, which was, in the next instant, a Vesuvius,
pouring tons and tons of steel and lead into the moving
human mass. From front, from right and left, artillery
crashed and swept the field, musketry and grape hewed and
mangled and mowed down the line of blue as it moved on its
approach.

[86]

COLD HARBOR

The battle of Cold Harbor on June 3d was the
tliinl tremendous engagement of Grant's
campaign against Richmond within a month.
It was also his costliest onset on Lee's veteran
army. Grant had risked much in his change of
baso to the James in order to bring him nearer
to Richmond and to the friendly hand which
Butler with the Army of the James was in a
position to reach out to him. Lee had again
confronted him, entrenching himself but six
miles from the outworks of Richmond, while
the Chickahominy cut off any further Hanking
movement. There was nothing to do but
light it out, and Grant ordered an attack all
along the line. On June 3d he hurled the
Army of the Potomac against the inferior
numbers of Lee, and in a brave assault upon
the Confederate entrenchments, lost ten
thousand men in twenty minutes.
Grant's assault at Cold Harbor was marked by
the gallantry of General Hancock's division
and of the brigades of Gibbon and Barlow, who

WHERE TEX THOISAXD FELL

on the left of the Federal line charged up the
ascent in their front upon the concentrated
artillery of the Confederates; they took the
position and held it for a moment under a
galling fire, which finally drove them back, but
not until they had captured a flag and three
hundred prisoners. The battle was substan
tially over by half-past seven in the morning,
but sullen fighting continued throughout the
day. About noontime General Grant, who had
visited all the corps commanders to see for
himself the positions gained and what could be
done, concluded that the Confederates were too
strongly entrenched to be dislodged and ordered
that further offensive action should cease. All
the next day the dead and wounded lay on the
field uucared for while both armies warily
watched each other. The lower picture was
taken during this weary wait. Not till the
7th was a satisfactory truce arranged, and
then all but two of the wounded Federals had
died. No wonder that Grant wrote, "I have
always regretted that the last assault at Cold
Harbor was ever made."

FEDERAL CAMP AT COLD HARBOR AFTER THE BATTLE

ttark

•*•

The three corps of the Federal army had gotten in some
places as near as thirty yards to the main Confederate en
trenchments, but to carry them was found impossible. The
whole line was ordered to lie down, and shelter from the deadly
fire was sought wherever it could be found. The advance
had occupied less than ten minutes, and before an hour had
passed the greater part of the fighting was over. Meade, at
headquarters, was quickly made aware that each corps com
mander had a serious grievance against his neighbor, and,
strange to say, the complaints were all phrased alike. Gen
eral McMahon in " Battles and Leaders of the Civil War "
explains this curious state of affairs:

' Each corps commander reported and complained to
General Meade that the other corps commanders, right or left,
as the case might be, failed to protect him from enfilading
fire by silencing batteries in their respective fronts; Smith, that
he could go no farther until Wright advanced upon his left;
Hancock, that it was useless for him to attempt a fur
ther advance until Wright advanced upon his right; AVright,
that it was impossible for him to move until Smith and Han
cock advanced to his support on his right and left to shield
him from the enemy's enfilade. These despatches necessarily
caused mystification at headquarters. . . . The explanation
was simple enough, although it was not known until recon
naissance had been made. The three corps had moved upon
diverging lines, each directly facing the enemy in its imme
diate front, and the farther each had advanced the more its
flank had become exposed."

Xot yet understanding the real state of affairs Meade
continued to issue orders to advance. To do so was now
beyond human possibility. The men could only renew the
fire from the positions they had gained. General Smith re
ceived a verbal order from Meade to make another assault,
and he flatly refused to obey. It was long past noon,
and after Grant was cogni/ant of the full situation, that

[88]

THE FORCES AT LAST JOIN HANDS

Charles City Court House on the James River, June 14, 1804. It was with infinite relief that (Irani saw the advance of the Army of
the Potomae reaeh this point on June 14th. His last flanking movement was an extremely hazardous one. More than fifty miles
intervened between him and Butler by the roads he would have to travel, and he had to cross both the Chickahominy and the James,
which were unbridged. The paramount difficulty was to get the Army of the Potomac out of its position before Lee, who confronted
it at Cold Harbor. Lee had the shorter line and better roads to move over and meet (Irani at the Chickahominy, or he might, if he
chose, descend rapidly on Butler and crush him before Grant could unite with him. "But," says (Irani, "the move had to be made,
and I relied upon Lee's not seeing my danger as I saw it." Near the old Charles City Court House Ihe crossing of the James was
successfully accomplished, and on the 14th (Irani look steamer and ran up the river lo Bermuda Hundred lo see (leneral Butler and
direct the movement againsl Petersburg, that began the final investment of that city.

ttark

Meade issued orders for the suspension of all further offensive
operations.

A word remains to be said as to fortunes of Burnside's
and Warren's forces, which were on the Federal right. Gen
erals Potter and Willcox of the Ninth Corps made a quick
capture of Karly's advanced rifle-pits and were waiting for
the order to advance on his main entrenchments, when the
order of suspension arrived. Early fell upon him later in the
day but was repulsed. Warren, on the left of Burnside, drove
Rodes' division back and repulsed Gordon's brigade, which had
attacked him. The commander of the Fifth Corps reported
that his line was too extended for further operations and Bir-
ney's division was sent from the Second Corps to his left. But
by the time this got into position the battle of Cold Harbor
was practically over.

After the day's conflict the field presented a scene that
was indescribable. It showed war in all its horror. It is even
painful to attempt a record of the actual facts, so appalling
was the loss and the suffering. The groans and the moaning
of the wounded during the night were heart-breaking. For
three days many unfortunate beings were left lying, uncared
for, where they fell. It was almost certain death to venture
outside of the entrenchments. Where the heaviest assaults
occurred the ground was literally covered with the dead and
dying, and nearly all of them were Federal soldiers. Volun
teers who offered to go to their relief were in peril of being
shot, yet many went bravely out in the face of the deadly fire,
to bring in their wounded comrades.

On the 5th, the Second Corps was extended to the Chicka-
hominy, and the Fifth Corps was ordered to the rear of Cold
Harbor. The Eighteenth Corps was placed along the Mata-
dequin. Lee threatened attack on the 6th and 7th, but he soon
desisted and retired to his entrenchments.

The losses to the Federal army in this battle and the
engagements which preceded it were over seventeen thousand,

[90]

June
1864

i^^SS^BSfc

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<"//

BACK TO THE OLD BASE

\Miite House Landing, on the Pamunkey River, hustles with life in June. 18(i4. Once more, just before the battle of Cold Harbor,
McClellan's old headquarters at the outset of the Peninsula Campaign of '(i2 springs into great activity. River steamers and barges
discharge their cargoes for the army that is again endeavoring to drive Lee across the Chickahominy and back upon Richmond, (irant's
main reliance was upon the inexhaustible supplies which lay at the command of the North. He knew well that the decimated and im
poverished South could not long hold out against the "hammering" which the greater abundance of Federal money and men made
it possible for him to keep up. Hence, without haste but without rest, he attacked Lee upon every occasion ami under all conditions,
aware that his own losses, even if the greater, could be made up, while those of his antagonist could not. He believed that this was
the surest and speediest way to end the war, and that all told it would involve the least sacrifice of blood and treasure.

ttark auft

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while the Confederate loss did not exeeed one-fifth of that
number. Grant had failed in his plan to destroy Lee north
of the James River, and saw that he must now cross it.

Thirty days had passed in the campaign since the Wil
derness and the grand total in losses to Grant's army in killed,
wounded, and missing was o4,9'29. The losses in Lee's army
were never accurately given, but they were very much less in
proportion to the numerical strength of the two armies. If
Grant had inflicted punishment upon his foe equal to that
suffered by the Federal forces, Lee's army would have been
practically annihilated. But, as matters stood, after the bat
tle of Cold Harbor, with reenforcements to the Confederate
arms and the comparatively small losses they had sustained,
Lee's army stood on the field of this last engagement almost
as large as it was at the beginning of the campaign.

For nearly twelve days the two armies lay within their
entrenchments on this field, while the Federal cavalry was
sent to destroy the railroad communications between Rich
mond and the Shenandoah valley and Lynchburg. One
writer says that during this time sharpshooting was incessant,
and " no man upon all that line could stand erect and live
an instant." Soldiers whose terms of service had expired and
were ordered home, had to crawl on their hands and knees
through the trenches to the rear. Xo advance was attempted
during this time by the Confederates, but every night at nine
o'clock the whole Confederate line opened fire with musket
and cannon. This was done by Lee in apprehension of the
possible withdrawal by night of Grant's army.

The Federal general-in-chief had decided to secure Peters
burg and confront Lee once more. General Gillmore was sent
by Butler, with cavalry and infantry, on June l()th to make
the capture, but \vas unsuccessful. Thereupon General Smith
and the Eighteenth Corps were despatched to White House
Landing to go forward by water and reach Petersburg before
Lee had time to reenforce it.

PART II
THE SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENTS

DREWRY'S BLUFF
IMPREGNABLE

IN BATTERY DANTZLER — CONFEDERATE GUN COMMANDING
THE RIVER AFTER BUTLER'S REPULSE ON LAND

Charles Francis Adams, who, as a
cavalry officer, served in Butler's cam
paign, compares Grant's maneuvers of
18G4 to Napoleon's of 1815. While
Napoleon advanced upon Wellington it
was essential that Grouchy should de
tain Blucher. So Butler was to elimi
nate Beauregard while Grant struck at
Lee. With forty thousand men, he was
ordered to land at Bermuda Hundred,
seize and hold City Point as a future
army base, and advance upon Richmond
by way of Petersburg, while Grant
meanwhile engaged Lee farther north.
Arriving at Broadway Landing, seen in
the lower picture, Butler put his army
over the Appomattox on pontoons, occu
pied City Point, May 4th, and advanced
within three miles of Petersburg, May
9th. The city might have been easily
taken by a vigorous move, but Butler
delayed until Beauregard arrived with a
hastily gathered army and decisively
defeated the Federals at Drewry's Bluff,
May 10th. Like Grouchy, Butler failed.

PORT DARLING

THE MASKED BATTERY

WHERE BUTLER'S TROOPS CROSSED — BROADWAY LANDING ON THE APPOMATTOX

BUTLER "BOTTLED UP"

Butler, after his disastrous repulse at
Drewry's Bluff, threw up strong en
trenchments across the neck of the
bottle-shaped territory which he occu
pied between the Appomattox and the
James. That was exactly what Beaure-
gard wanted, and the Confederate
general immediately constructed field
works all along Butler's front, effectually
closing the neck of this "bottle." Here
Butler remained in inactivity till the
close of the war. He built the elabo
rate signal tower seen in the picture so
that he could observe all the operations
of the Confederates, although he could
make no move against any of them.
Generals Gilmore and "Baldy" Smith
both urged upon Butler the laying of
pontoons across the Appomattox in
order to advance on Petersburg, the key
to Richmond. But Butler curtly replied
that he would build no bridges for
West Pointers to retreat over.

BUTLER'S SIGNAL TOWER

THE LOOKOUT

THE THIRTEENTH NEW YORK HEAVY ARTILLERY IDLING IN WINTER QUARTERS AT BERMUDA HUNDRED

THE IMPASSABLE JAMES RIVER

Pile gun is in Confederate Battery Brooke — another of the defenses on the James constructed after Butler was bottled up. Here in
18G.5 the gunners were still at their posts guarding the water approach to Richmond. The Federals had not been able to get up the
river since their first unsuccessful effort in 1862, when the hastily constructed Fort Darling at Drewry's Bluff baffled the Monitor and
the Galena. Battery Brooke was situated above Dutch Gap, the narrow neck of Farrar's Island, where Butler's was busily digging
his famous canal to enable the Federal gunboats to get by the obstructions he himself had caused to be sunk in the river. Even the
canal proved a failure, for when the elaborate ditch was finished under fire from the Confederate batteries above, the dam was un-
• kilfully blown up and remained an effective barrier against the passage of vessels.

AN ADVANCE DEFENSE OK RICHMOND

This Confederate gun at Battery Dantzler swept the James at a point where the river flows due south around Farrar's Island. "But
ler's Campaign" consisted merely of an advance by land up the James to Drewry's Bluff and inglorious retreat back again. Far from
threatening Richmond, it enabled the Confederates to construct strong river defenses below Fort Darling on the James to hold in
check the Federal fleet and assist in keeping the neck of Butler's "bottle" tightly closed. The guns at Battery Dantzler controlled
the river at Trent's Reach. In a straight line from Drewry's Bluff to City Point it was but nine miles, but the James flows in a suc
cession of curves and bends at all angles of the compass, around steep bluffs, past swamp and meadow-land, making the route by
water a journey of thirty miles. If the Federal gunboats could have passed their own obstructions and the Confederate torpedoes,
they would still have been subjected to the fire of Battery Dantzler from their rear in attempting to reach Richmond.

ABOVE DUTCH GAP— A GUN THAT MOCKED THE FEDERALS

This huge Confederate cannon in one of the batteries above Dutch Gap bore on the canal that was being
dug by the Federals. Away to the south stretches the flat and swampy country, a complete protection
against hostile military operations. The Confederate cannoneers amused themselves by dropping shot
and shell upon the Federal colored regiments toiling on Butler's canal. Aside from the activity of the
diggers, the Army of the James had nothing to do.

PART II
THE SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENTS

TO ATLANTA

SHERMAN S MEN IX THE ATLANTA TRENCHES

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TO ATLANTA

Johnston was an officer who, hv the common consent of the military
men of both sides, was reckoned second only to Lee, if second, in the
qualities which fit an officer for the responsibility of great comnmnds. . . .
lie practised a lynx-eyed watchfulness of his adversary) tempting him con
stantly to assault his entrenchments, holding his fortified positions to the
last moment, but choosing that last moment so well as to saye nearly every
gnu and wagon in the final withdrawal, and always presenting a front
covered by such defenses that one man in the line was, by all sound mili
tary rules, equal to three or four in the attack. In this way he constantly
neutralized the superiority of force his opponent wielded, and made his
campaign from Dalton to the Chattahoochee a model of defensive warfare.
It is Sherman's glory that, with a totally different temperament, he ac
cepted his adversary's game, and played it with a skill that was finally
successful, as we shall see. — Major-General Jacob I). C'o.r. [r. S. I'., /'//
"Atlanta."

THE two leading Federal generals of the war, Grant and
Sherman, met at Xashville, Tennessee, on March 17,
1804, and arranged for a great concerted double movement
against the two main Southern armies, the Army of Northern
Virginia and the Army of Tennessee. Grant, who had been
made commander of all the Federal armies, was to take per
sonal charge of the Army of the Potomac and move against
Lee, while to Sherman, whom, at Grant's request, President
Lincoln had placed at the head of the Military Division of
the Mississippi, he turned over the Western army, which was
to proceed against Johnston.

It was decided, moreover, that the two movements were
to be simultaneous and that they were to begin early in May.
Sherman concentrated his forces around Chattanooga on the
Tennessee River, where the Army of the Cumberland had

[104]

IX THE FOREFRONT— GENERAL RICHARD W. JOHNSON AT GRAYSVILLE

On the balcony of this little cottage at Graysville, Georgia, stands General Richard W. Johnson, ready to advance with his cavalry division
in the vanguard of the direct movement upon the Confederates strongly posted at Dalton. Sherman's cavalry forces under Stone-
man and Garrard were not yet fully equipped and joined the army after the campaign had opened. General Richard W . Johnson's
division of Thomas' command, with General Palmer's division, was given the honor of heading the line of march when the Federals
got in motion on May 5th. The same troops (Palmer's division) had made the same march in February, sent by Grant to engage
Johnston at Dalton during Sherman's Meridian campaign. Johnson was a West Pointer; lie had gained his cavalry training in the
Mexican War, and had fought the Indians on the Texas border. He distinguished himself at Corinth, and rapidly rose to the com
mand of a division in Buell's army. Fresh from a Confederate prison, he joined the Army of the Cumberland in the summer of 18(52
to win new laurels at Stone's River, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. His sabers were conspicuously active in the Atlanta cam
paign; and at the battle of New Hope Church on May 28th Johnson himself was wounded, but recovered in time to join Schofield
after the fall of Atlanta and to assist him in driving Hood and Forrest out of Tennessee. Vor his bravery at the battle of Nashville
he was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. A., December 16, 1804, and after the war he was retired with the brevet of major-general.

0 Allanta — &ltmnan its. Jfafynatmt * •*•

spent the winter, and where a decisive battle had been fought
some months before, in the autumn of 180'}. His army was
composed of three parts, or, more properly, of three armies
operating in concert. These were the Army of the Ten
nessee, led by General James B. McPherson; the Army of
Ohio, under General John M. Schofield, and the Army of
the Cumberland, commanded by General George H. Thomas.
The last named was much larger than the other two combined.
The triple army aggregated the grand total of ninety-nine
thousand men, six thousand of whom were cavalrymen, while
four thousand four hundred and sixty belonged to the artil
lery. There were two hundred and fifty-four heavy guns.

Soon to be pitted against Sherman's army was that of
General Joseph K. Johnston, which had spent the winter at
Dalton. in the State of Georgia, some thirty miles southeast
of Chattanooga. It was by chance that Dalton became the
winter quarters of the Confederate army. In the preceding
autumn, when General Bragg had been defeated on Mission
ary Ridge and driven from the vicinity of Chattanooga, he
retreated to Dalton and stopped for a night's rest. Discov
ering the next morning that he was not pursued, he there
remained. Some time later he was superseded by General
Johnston.

By telegraph, General Sherman was apprised of the time
when Grant was to move upon Lee on the banks of the Rapi-
dan, in Virginia, and he prepared to move his own army at
the same time. But he was two days behind Grant, who began
his Virginia campaign on May 4th. Sherman broke camp on
the Oth and led his legions across hill and valley, forest and
stream, toward the Confederate stronghold. Xature was all
abloom with the opening of a Southern spring and the sol
diers, who had long chafed under their enforced idleness, now
rejoiced at the exhilarating journey before them, though their
mission was to be one of strife and bloodshed.

Johnston's army numbered about fifty-three thousand,

F1061

BEGINNING THE FIRST FLANK MOVEMENT

In the upper picture, presented through the kindness of General G. P. Thruston, are the headquarters of General Thomas at Ringgold,
Georgia, May 5, 1804. On that day, appointed by Grant for the beginning of the "simultaneous movements" he had planned to earry
out in 1864, General Sherman rode out the eighteen miles from Chattanooga to Ringgold with his staff, about half a dozen wagons,
and a single company of Ohio sharpshooters. A small company of irregular Alabama cavalry acted as couriers. Sherman's mess
establishment was less bulky than that of any of his brigade commanders. "I wanted to set the example," he says, "and gradually
to convert all parts of that army into a mobile machine willing and able to start at a minute's notice and to subsist on the scantiest
food." On May 7th, General Thomas moved in force to Tunnel Hill to begin the turning of Johnston's flank.

"V. _:;.^

.; ." t - ;^£<r-'>
.J^ -- ' ~

TUNNEL HILL, GA., HEVOM) WHICH JOHNSTON O( (TIMED A STRONG POSITION BUZZARD'S HOOST GAP

0 Atlanta —

•

and was divided into two corps, under the respective com
mands of Generals John E. Hood and William J. Hardee.
But General Polk was on his way to join them, and in a few
days Johnston had in the neighborhood of seventy thousand
men. His position at Dalton was too strong to he carried
by a front attack, and Sherman was too wise to attempt it.
Leaving Thomas and Schofield to make a feint at Johnston's
front, Sherman sent McPherson on a flanking movement hy
the right to occupy Snake Creek Gap, a mountain pass near
Resaca, which is about eighteen miles below Dalton.

Sherman, with the main part of the army, soon occupied
Tunnel Hill, which faces Rocky Face Ridge, an eastern range
of the Cumberland Mountains, north of Dalton, on which a
large part of Johnston's army was posted. The Federal
leader had little or no hope of dislodging his great antagonist
from this impregnable position, fortified by rocks and cliffs
which no army could scale while under fire. But he ordered
that demonstrations be made at several places, especially at a
pass known as Rocky Face Gap. This was done with great
spirit and bravery, the men clambering over rocks and across
ravines in the face of showers of bullets and even of masses
of stone hurled down from the heights above them. On the
whole they won but little advantage.

During the 8th and 9th of May, these operations wrere
continued, the Federals making but little impression on the
Confederate stronghold. Meanwhile, on the Dalton road there
was a sharp cavalry fight, the Federal commander, General
E. M. McCook, having encountered General Wheeler. Mc-
Cook's advance brigade under Colonel La Grange was de
feated and La Grange was made prisoner.

Sherman's chief object in these demonstrations, it will be
seen, was so to engage Johnston as to prevent his intercept
ing McPherson in the latter's movement upon Resaca. In
this Sherman was successful, and by the llth he was giving
his whole energy to moving the remainder of his forces by the

[108]

May

1864-

RESACA— FIELD OF THE FIRST HEAVY FIGHTING

The chips are still bright and the earth fresh turned, in the foreground where are the Confederate earthworks such as General Joseph
E. Johnston had caused to be thrown up by the \egro laborers all along his line of possible retreat. McPherson, sent by Sherman to
strike the railroad in Johnston's rear, got his head of column through Snake Creek Gap on May 9th, and drove off a Confederate
cavalry brigade which retreated toward Dalton, bringing to Johnston the first news that a heavy force of Federals was already in his
rear. McPherson, within a mile and a half of Resaca, could have walked into the town with his twenty-three thousand men, but
concluded that the Confederate entrenchments were too strongly held to assault. When Sherman arrived he found that Johnston,
having the shorter route, was there ahead of him with his entire army strongly posted. On May 15th, "without attempting to as
sault the fortified works," says Sherman, "we pressed at all points, and the sound of cannon and musketry rose all day to the dignity
of a battle." Its havoc is seen in the shattered trees and torn ground in the lower picture.

THE WORK OF THE FIRING AT RESACA

h?ntum its. Johnston * 4-

right flank, as McPherson had done, to Resaca, leaving a
detachment of General (). (). Howard's Fourth Corps to
occupy Dalton when evacuated. When Johnston discovered
this, he was quick to see that he must abandon his entrench
ments and intercept Sherman. Moving by the only two good
roads, Johnston beat Sherman in the race to Resaca. The
town had been fortified, owing to Johnston's foresight, and
McPherson had failed to dislodge the garrison and capture it.
The Confederate army was now settled behind its entrench
ments, occupying a semicircle of low wooded hills, both flanks
of the army resting on the banks of the Oostenaula River.

On the morning of May 14th, the Confederate wrorks
were invested by the greater part of Sherman's army and it
was evident that a battle wras imminent. The attack was
begun about noon, chiefly by the Fourteenth Army Corps un
der Palmer, of Thomas' army, and Judah's division of Scho-
field's. General Hindman's division of Hood's corps bore
the brunt of this attack and there wras heavy loss on both sides.
Later in the day, a portion of Hood's corps was massed in a
heavy column and hurled against the Federal left, driving it
back. But at this point the Twentieth Army Corps under
Hooker, of Thomas' army, dashed against the advancing
Confederates and pushed them back to their former lines.

The forenoon of the next day wTas spent in heavy skir
mishing, which grew to the dignity of a battle. During the
day's operations a hard fight for a Confederate lunette on the
top of a low hill occurred. At length, General Butterfield,
in the face of a galling fire, succeeded in capturing the posi
tion. But so deadly was the fire from Hardee's corps that
Butterfield was unable to hold it or to remove the four guns
the lunette contained.

With the coming of night, General Johnston determined
to withdraw his army from Resaca. The battle had cost each
army nearly three thousand men. While it was in progress,
McPherson, sent by Sherman, had deftly marched around

[110]

ANOTHER RETROGRADE MOVEMENT ONER THE ETOWAII BRIDGE

The strong works in the pictures, commanding the railroad bridge
over the Etowah River, were the fourth fortified position to be
abandoned by Johnston within a month. Pursued by Thomas
from Resaca, he had made a brief stand at Kingston and then
fallen back steadily and in superb order into Cassville. There
he issued an address to his army announcing his purpose to
retreat no more but to accept battle. His troops were all drawn
up in preparation for a struggle, but that night at supper with
Generals Hood and Polk f —
he was convinced by them
that the ground occupied
by their troops was unten
able, being enfiladed by the
Federal artillery. Johnston,
therefore, gave up his pur
pose of battle, and on the
night of May 20th put the
Etowah River between him
self and Sherman and re
treated to Allatoona Pass,
shown in the lower picture, il

In taking this the camera was planted inside the breastworks
seen on the eminence in the upper picture. Sherman's army now
rested after its rapid advance and waited a few days for the rail
road to be repaired in their rear so that supplies could be brought
up. Meanwhile Johnston was being severely criticized at the
South for his continual falling back without risking a battle. His
friends stoutly maintained that it was all strategic, while some of
the Southern newspapers quoted the Federal General Scott's

remark, " Beware of Lee

advancing, and watch John
ston at a stand; for the
devil himself would be de
feated in the attempt to
whip him retreating." But
General Jeff C. Davis, sent
by Sherman, took Rome on
May 17th and destroyed
valuable mills and foundries.
Thus began the accomplish
ment of one of the main
i, objects of Sherman's march.

ALLATOONA PASS IN THE DISTANCE

0 Atlanta — $hmnem us. Jtohuatan

•*•

Johnston's left with the view of cutting off his retreat south
by seizing the bridges across the Oostenaula, and at the same
time the Federal cavalry was threatening the railroad to
Atlanta which ran beyond the river. It was the knowledge
of these facts that determined the Confederate commander to
abandon llesaca. Withdrawing during the night, he led his
army southward to the banks of the Etowah River. Sherman
followed but a few miles behind him. At the same time Sher
man sent a division of the Army of the Cumberland, under
General Jeff. C. Davis, to Home, at the junction of the
Etowah and the Oostenaula, where there were important
machine-shops and factories. Davis captured the town and
several heavy guns, destroyed the factories, and left a garri
son to hold it.

Sherman was eager for a battle in the open with Johnston
and on the 17th, near the town of Adairsville, it seemed as if
the latter would gratify him. Johnston chose a good position,
posted his cavalry, deployed his infantry, and awaited combat.
The Union army was at hand. The skirmishing for some
hours almost amounted to a battle. But suddenly Johnston
decided to defer a conclusive contest to another time.

Again at Cassville, a few days later, Johnston drew up
the Confederate legions in battle array, evidently having de
cided on a general engagement at this point. He issued a
spirited address to the army: " By your courage and skill you
have repulsed every assault of the enemy. . . . You will now
turn and march to meet his advancing columns. ... I lead
you to battle." But, when his right flank had been turned
by a Federal attack, and when two of his corps commanders,
Hood and Polk, advised against a general battle, Johnston
again decided on postponement. He retreated in the night
across the Etowah, destroyed the bridges, and took a strong-
position among the rugged hills about Allatoona Pass, extend
ing south to Kenesaw Mountain.

not to fight was a

112]

Johnston's decision to fight and then

May
1 864

ENTRENCHMENTS HELD BY THE CONFEDERATES AGAINST HOOKER ON MAY 2.5™

These views of the battlefield of
New Hope Church, in Georgia,
show the evidences of the sharp
struggle at this point that was
brought on by Sherman's next
attempt to flank Johnston out
of his position at Allatoona Pass.
The middle picture gives muto
witness to the leaden storm that
raged among the trees during
that engagement. In the upper
and lower pictures are seen the

entrenchments which the Con
federates had hastily thrown up
and which resisted Hooker's
assaults on May 25th. For
two days each side strength
ened its position; then on the
28th the Confederates made a
brave attack upon General Mc-
Pherson's forces as they were
closing up to this new position.
The Confederates were repulsed
with a loss of two thousand.

THE CANNONADED FOREST

ANOTHER POSITION OF THE CONFEDERATES AT NEW HOPE CHURCH

us. 301|u0tnn •$•

cause for grumbling both on the part of his army and of the
inhabitants of the region through which he was passing. His
men were eager to defend their country, and they could not
understand this Fabian policy. They would have preferred
defeat to these repeated retreats with no opportunity to show
what they could do.

Johnston, however, was wiser than his critics. The Union
army was larger by far and better equipped than his own,
and Sherman was a master-strategist. His hopes rested on
two or three contingencies — that he might catch a portion of
Sherman's army separated from the rest; that Sherman would
be so weakened by the necessity of guarding the long line of
railroad to his base of supplies at Chattanooga, Nashville,
and even far-away Louisville, as to make it possible to defeat
him in open battle, or, finally, that Sherman might fall into
the trap of making a direct attack while Johnston was in an
impregnable position, and in such a situation he now was.

Not yet, however, was Sherman inclined to fall into such
a trap, and when Johnston took his strong position at and
beyond Allatoona Pass, the Northern commander decided,
after resting his army for a few days, to move toward At
lanta by way of Dallas, southwest of the pass. Rations for
a twenty days' absence from direct railroad communication
were issued to the Federal army. In fact, Sherman's rail
road connection with the North was the one delicate problem
of the whole movement. The Confederates had destroyed the
iron way as they moved southward; but the Federal engi
neers, following the army, repaired the line and rebuilt the
bridges almost as fast as the army could march.

Sherman's movement toward Dallas drew Johnston from
the slopes of the Allatoona Hills. From Kingston, the Fed
eral leader wrote on May 28d, " I am already within fifty miles
of Atlanta." But he was not to enter that city for many
weeks, not before he had measured swords again and again
with his great antagonist. On the 25th of May, the two great

or PUB. co.

PINK MOINTAIN, WHKHK POLK. THK FIGHTING HISIIOP OF THE CONFEDERACY, WAS KILLED

The blasted pine rears its gaunt height above the mountain slope,
covered with trees slashed down to hold the Federals at bay; and
here, on June 14, 1864, the Confederacy lost a commander, a
bishop, and a hero. Lieut. -General Leonidas Polk, commanding
one of Johnston's army corps, with Johnston himself and Ilardee,
another corps commander, was studying Sherman's position at a
tense moment of the hitter's advance around Pine Mountain.
The three Confederates stood upon the rolling height, where the
center of Johnston's army awaited the
Federal attack. They could see the
columns in blue pushing cast of them;
the smoke and rattle of musketry as the
pickets were driven in; and the bustle
with which the Federal advance guard
felled trees and constructed trenches at
their very feet. On the lonely height the
three figures stood conspicuous. A Fed
eral order was given the artillery to
open upon any men in gray who looked
like officers reeonnoitering the new posi
tion. So, while. Ilardee was pointing to
his comrade and his chief the danger of
one of his divisions which the Federal
advance was cutting off, the bishop-
general was struck in the chest by a
cannon shot. Thus the Confederacy lost
a leader of unusual influence. Although

a bishop of the Episcopal Church, Polk was educated at
West Point. When he threw in his lot with the Confederacy,
thousands of his fellow-Louisianians followed him. A few days
before the battle of Pine Mountain, as he and General Hood
were riding together, the bishop was told by his companion
that he had never been received into the communion of a church
and was begged that the rite might be performed. Immediately
Polk arranged the ceremony. At Hood's headquarters, by the
light of a tallow candle, with a tin basin
on the mess table for a baptismal font,
and with Hood's staff present as wit
nesses, all was ready. Hood, "with a
face like that of an old crusader," stood
before the bishop. Crippled by wounds
at Games' Mill, Gettysburg, and Chicka-
mauga, he could not kneel, but bent
forward on his crutches. The bishop, in
full uniform of the Confederate army,
administered the rite. A few days later,
by a strange coincidence, he was ap
proached by General Johnston on
the same errand, and the man whom
Hood was soon to succeed was baptized
in the same simple manner. Polk, as
Bishop, had administered his last bap
tism, and as soldier had fought his last
battle; for Pine Mountain was near.

LffiUT.-GEN. LEONIDAS POLK, C.S.A

0 Atlanta — &ftmnau us. Jnlntstmt

•$•

v'/

*x .

armies were facing each other near Xew Hope Church, about
four miles north of Dallas. Here, for three or four days,
there was almost incessant fighting, though there was not what
might he called a pitched battle.

Late in the afternoon of the first day, Hooker made a
vicious attack on Stewart's division of Hood's corps. For
two hours the battle raged without a moment's cessation,
Hooker being pressed back with heavy loss. During those
two hours he had held his ground against sixteen field-pieces
and five thousand infantry at close range. The name " Hell
Hole " was applied to this spot by the Union soldiers.

On the next day there was considerable skirmishing in
different places along the line that divided the two armies.
But the chief labor of the day was throwing up entrench
ments, preparatory to a general engagement. The country,
however, was ill fitted for such a contest. The continuous
succession of hills, covered with primeval forests, presented
little opportunity for two great armies, stretched out almost
from Dallas to Marietta, a distance of about ten miles, to come
together simultaneously at all points.

A severe contest occurred on the 27th, near the center of
the battle-lines, between General O. O. Howard on the Federal
side and General Patrick Cleburne on the part of the South.
Dense and almost impenetrable was the undergrowth through
which Howard led his troops to make the attack. The fight
was at close range and was fierce and bloody, the Confeder
ates gaining the greater advantage.

The next day Johnston made a terrific attack on the
Union right, under McPherson, near Dallas. But McPher-
son was well entrenched and the Confederates were repulsed
with a serious loss. In the three or four days' fighting the
Federal loss was probably twenty-four hundred men and the
Confederate somewhat greater.

In the early days of June, Sherman took possession of
the town of Allatoona and made it a second base of supplies,

[11G]

May
1864

:^§§MS^fiS£=

IN THK HARDEST FIGHT OF THE CAMPAIGN— THE ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTV FIFTH OHIO

During the dark days before Kenesaw it rained continually, and Sherman speaks of the peculiarly depressing effect that the weather
had upon his troops in the wooded country. Nevertheless he must either assault Johnston's strong position on the mountain or begin
again his Hanking tactics. He decided upon the former, and on June 27th, after three days' preparation, the assault was made. At
nine in the morning along the Federal lines the furious fire of musketry and artillery was begun, but at all points the Confederates
met it with determined courage and in great force. Mcl'herson's attacking column, under (1 em-nil Blair, 1'ought its way up the face
I of little Kenesaw but could not reach the summit. Then the courageous troops of Thomas charged up the face of the mountain and
planted their colors on the very parapet of the Confederate works. Here General Harker, commanding the brigade in which
fought the Hoth Ohio, fell mortally wounded, as did Brigadier-General Daniel McCook, and also General Wagner.

FEDERAL ENTRENCHMENTS AT THE FOOT OF KENESAW MOUNTAIN

UH. JflljltHtmt

•*•

after repairing the railroad bridge across the Etowah River.
Johnston swung his left around to Lost Mountain and his
right extended beyond the railroad — a line ten miles in length
and much too long for its numbers. Johnston's army, how
ever, had been reenforced, and it now numbered about seventy-
five thousand men. Sherman, on June 1st, had nearly one
hundred and thirteen thousand men and on the 8th he received
the addition of a cavalry brigade and two divisions of the
Seventeenth Corps, under General Frank P. Blair, which had
marched from Alabama.

So multifarious were the movements of the two great
armies among the hills and forests of that part of Georgia
that it is impossible for us to follow them all. On the 14th of
June, Generals Johnston, Hardee, and Polk rode up the slope
of Pine Mountain to reconnoiter. As they were standing,
making observations, a Federal battery in the distance opened
on them and General Polk was struck in the chest with a
Parrot shell. He was killed instantly.

General Polk was greatly beloved, and his death caused
a shock to the whole Confederate army. He was a graduate
of West Point; but after being graduated he took orders in
the church and for twenty years before the war w^as Episcopal
Bishop of Louisiana. At the outbreak of the war he entered
the field and served with distinction to the moment of his death.

During the next two weeks there was almost incessant
righting, heavy skirmishing, sparring for position. It was a
wonderful game of military strategy, played among the hills
and mountains and forests by two masters in the art of war.
On June 23d, Sherman wrote, " The whole country is one
vast fort, and Johnston must have full fifty miles of connected
trenches. . . . Our lines are now in close contact, and the
fighting incessant. . . . As fast as we gain one position, the
enemy has another all ready."

Sherman, conscious of superior strength, was now anx
ious for a real battle, a fight to the finish with his antagonist.

[118]

June
1864

THOMAS' HEADQUARTERS NEAR MARIETTA DURING THE FIGHTING OF

THE FOURTH OF JULY

This is a photograph of Independence Day, 1864. As the sentries and staff officers stand outside the shel
tered tents, General Thomas, commanding the Army of the Cumberland, is busy; for the fighting is fierce
to-day. Johnston has been outflanked from Kenesaw and has fallen back eastward until he is actually
farther from Atlanta than Sherman's right flank. Who will reach the Chattahoochee first? There, if any
where, Johnston must make his stand; he must hold the fords and ferries, and the fortifications that, with
the wisdom of a far-seeing commander, he has for a long time been preparing. The rustic work in the pho
tograph, which embowers the tents of the commanding general and his staff, is the sort of thing that Civil
War soldiers had learned to throw up within an hour after pitching camp.

— I' If*

0 Atlanta — Sfenmm HB. Snhwatat

But Johnston was too wily to be thus caught. lie made no
false move on the great chessboard of war. At length, the
impatient Sherman decided to make a general front attack,
even though Johnston, at that moment, was impregnably en
trenched on the slopes of Kenesaw Mountain. This was pre
cisely what the Confederate commander was hoping for.

The desperate battle of Kenesaw Mountain occurred on
the 27th of June. In the early morning hours, the boom of
Federal cannon announced the opening of a bloody day's
struggle. It was soon answered by the Confederate batteries
in the entrenchments along the mountain side, and the deaf
ening roar of the giant conflict reverberated from the surround
ing hills. About nine o'clock the Union infantry advance
began. On the left was McPherson, who sent the Fif
teenth Army Corps, led by General John A. Logan, directly
against the mountain. The artillery from the Confederate
trenches in front of Logan cut down his men by hundreds.
The Federals charged courageously and captured the lower
works, but failed to take the higher ridges.

The chief assault of the day was by the Army of the
Cumberland, under Thomas. Most conspicuous in the attack
were the divisions of Xewton and Davis, advancing against
General Loring, successor of the lamented Polk. Far up on
a ridge at one point, General Cleburne held a line of breast
works, supported by the flanking fire of artillery. Against
this a vain and costly assault was made.

When the word was given to charge, the Federals sprang
forward and, in the face of a deadly hail of musket-balls and
shells, they dashed up the slope, firing as they went. Stunned
and bleeding, they were checked again and again by the with
ering fire from the mountain slope; but they re-formed and
pressed on with dauntless valor. Some of them reached the
parapets and were instantly shot down, their bodies rolling
into the Confederate trenches among the men who had slain
them, or back down the hill whence they had come. General

[ 120]

June
18G4

THE CHATTAHOOCHEE BRIDGE

"One of the strongest pieces of field fortification I ever saw" — this was Sherman's characterization of the entrenchments that
guarded the railroad bridge over the Chattahoochee on July 5th. A glimpse of the bridge and the freshly-turned earth in 1804 is
given by the upper picture. At this river Johnston made his final effort to hold back Sherman from a direct attack upon Atlanta.
If Sherman could get successfully across that river, the Confederates would be compelled to fall back behind the defenses of the
city, which was the objective of the campaign. Sherman perceived at once the futility of trying to carry by assault this strongly
garrisoned position. Instead, he made a feint at crossing the river lower down, and simultaneously went to work in earnest eight
miles north of the bridge. The lower picture shows the canvas pontoon boats as perfected by Union engineers in 18(54. A number of
these were stealthily set up and launched by Sherman's Twenty-third Corps near the mouth of Soap Creek, behind a ridge. Byrd's
brigade took the defenders of the southern bank completely by surprise. It was short work for the Federals to throw pontoon bridges
across and to occupy the coveted spot in force.

INFANTRY AND ARTILLERY CROSSING ON BOATS MADE OF PONTOONS

o Atlanta —

its. Jnhuatmt

•$•

: '

Harker, leading a cliarge against Cleburne, was mortally
wounded. His men were swept back by a galling fire, though
many fell with their brave leader.

This assault on Kenesaw Mountain cost Sherman three
thousand men and won him nothing. Johnston's loss prob
ably exceeded five hundred. The battle continued but two
and a half hours. It was one of the most recklessly daring-
assaults during the whole war period, but did not greatly affect
the final result of the campaign.

Under a flag of truce, on the day after the battle, the
men of the Xorth and of the South met on the gory field to
bury their dead and to minister to the wounded. They met as
friends for the moment, and not as foes. It was said that
there were instances of father and son. one in blue and the
other in gray, and brothers on opposite sides, meeting one
another on the bloody slopes of Kenesaw. Tennessee and
Kentucky had sent thousands of men to each side in the
fratricidal struggle and not infrequently families had been
divided.

Three weeks of almost incessant rain fell upon the strug
gling armies during this time, rendering their operations dis
agreeable and unsatisfactory. The camp equipage, the men's
uniforms and accouterments were thoroughly saturated with
rain and mud. Still the warriors of the Xorth and of the
South lived and fought on the slopes of the mountain range,
intent on destroying each other.

Sherman was convinced by his drastic repulse at Kenesaw
Mountain that success lay not in attacking his great antag
onist in a strong position, and he resumed his old tactics. He
would flank Johnston from Kenesaw as he had flanked him
out of Dalton and Allatoona Pass. He thereupon turned
upon Johnston's line of communication with Atlanta, whence
the latter received his supplies. The movement was success
ful, and in a few days Kenesaw Mountain was deserted.

Johnston moved to the banks of the Chattahoochee,

[122]

June
1864

Johnston's parrying of Sherman's mighty
strokes was "a model of defensive war
fare," declares one of Sherman's own divi
sion commanders, Jacob D. Cox. There
was not a man in the Federal army from
Sherman down that did not rejoice to hear
that Johnston had been superseded by Hood
on July 17th. Johnston, whose mother was
a niece of Patrick Henry, was fifty-seven
years old, cold in manner, measured and
accurate in speech. His dark firm face,
surmounted by a splendidly intellectual
forehead, betokened the experienced and
cautious soldier. His dismissal was one of
the political mistakes which too often
hampered capable leaders on both sides.
His Fabian policy in Georgia was precisely
the same as that which was winning fame
against heavy odds for Lee in Virginia.

GENERAL JOSEPH EGGLESTON

JOHNSTON, C. S.A.
BORN 1809; WEST POINT 1829; DIED 1891

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL

JOHN B. HOOD, C.S.A.
BORN 1831; WEST POINT 1853; DIED 1879

The countenance of Hood, on the other
hand, indicates an eager, restless energy,
an impetuosity that lacked the poise of
Sherman, whose every gesture showed the
alertness of mind and soundness of
judgment that in him were so exactly bal
anced. Both Schofield and McPherson
were classmates of Hood at West Point,
and characterized him to Sherman as
"bold even to rashness and courageous in
the extreme." He struck the first offen
sive blow at Sherman advancing on At
lanta, and wisely adhered to the plan of
the battle as it had been worked out by
Johnston just before his removal. But
the policy of attacking was certain to
be finally disastrous to the Confederates.

€

it Atlanta

its* Jblmatmt

Sherman following in the hope of catching him while crossing
the river. But the wary Confederate had again, as at llesaca,
prepared entrenchments in advance, and these were on the
north bank of the river. lie hastened to them, then turned
on the approaching Federals and defiantly awaited attack.
But Sherman remembered Kenesaw and there was no battle.

The feints, the sparring, the flanking movements among
the hills and forests continued day after day. The immediate
aim in the early days of July was to cross the Chattahoochee.
On the 8th, Sherman sent Schofield and McPherson across,
ten miles or more above the Confederate position. Johnston
crossed the next day. Thomas followed later.

Sherman's position was by no means reassuring. It is
true he had, in the space of two months, pressed his antag
onist back inch by inch for more than a hundred miles and
was iur\v almost within sight of the goal of the campaign—
the city of Atlanta. But the single line of railroad that con
nected him with the North and brought supplies from Louis
ville, five hundred miles away, for a hundred thousand men
and twenty-three thousand animals, might at any moment be
destroyed by Confederate raiders.

The necessity of guarding the Western and Atlantic
Railroad was an ever-present concern with Sherman. Forrest
and his cavalry force were in northern Mississippi waiting
for him to get far enough on the way to Atlanta for them
to pounce upon the iron way and tear it to ruins. To pre
vent this General Samuel 1). Sturgis, with eight thousand
troops, was sent from Memphis against Forrest. lie met him
on the l()th of June near Gnntown, Mississippi, but was sadly
beaten and driven back to Memphis, one hundred miles away.
The affair, nevertheless, delayed Forrest in his operations
against the railroad, and meanwhile General Smith's troops
returned to Memphis from the Ked River expedition, some
what late according to the schedule but eager to join Sherman
in the advance on Atlanta. Smith, however, was directed to

PEACH-TREE CREEK, WHERE HOOD HIT HARD

Counting those closely clustered Federal graves gives one an idea of the overwhelming onset with Hood become the aggressor on July
20th. Beyond the graves are some of the trenches from which the Federals were at first irresistibly driven. In the background flows
Peach-Tree Creek, the little stream that gives its name to the battlefield. Hood, impatient to signalize his new responsibility by a
stroke that would at once dispel the gloom at Richmond, had posted his troops behind strongly fortified works on a ridge commanding
the valley of Peach-Tree Creek about five miles to the north of Atlanta. Here he awaited the approach of Sherman. As the Federals
were disposing their lines and entrenching before this position. Hood's eager eyes detected a gap in their formation and at four o'clock
in the afternoon hurled a heavy force against it. Thus he proved his reputation for courage, but the outcome showed the mistake.
For a brief interval Sherman's forces were in great peril. Hut the Federals under Xewton and deary rallied and held their ground,
till Ward's division in a brave counter-charge drove the Confederates back. This first effort cost Hood dear. He abandoned his
entrenchments that night, leaving on the field five hundred dead, one thousand wounded, and many prisoners. Sherman estimated
the total Confederate loss at no less than five thousand. That of the Federals was fifteen hundred.

PALISADES AND CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE GUARDING ATLANTA

At last Sherman is before Atlanta. The photograph shows one of the keypoints in the Confederate
defense, the fort at the head of Marietta Street, toward which the Federal lines were advancing from
the northwest. The old Potter house in the background, once a quiet, handsome country seat, is now
surrounded by bristling fortifications, palisades, and double lines of cheoaux-de-frise. Atlanta was engaged
in the final grapple with the force that was to overcome her. Sherman has fought his way past Kenesaw
and across the Chattahoochee, through a country which he describes as "one vast fort," saying that "John
ston must have at least fifty miles of connected trenches with abatis and finished batteries." Anticipating
that Sherman might drive him back upon Atlanta, Johnston had constructed, during the winter, heavily
fortified positions all the way from Dalton. During his two months in retreat the fortifications at At
lanta had been strengthened to the utmost. What he might have done behind them was never to be known.

AFTER THE SHARPSIIOOTING IN POTTER'S HOUSE

One gets a closer look at Potter's house in the background opposite. It was occupied by sharpshooters
in the skirmishing and engagements by which the investing lines were advanced. So the Federals made
it a special target for their artillery. After Atlanta fell, nearly a ton of shot and shell was found in the
house. The fort on Marietta Street, to the northwest of the city, was the first of the inner defenses to
be encountered as Sherman advanced quickly on July 21st, after finding that Hood had abandoned his
outer line at Peach-Tree Creek. The vicinity of the Potter house was the scene of many vigorous assaults
and much brave resistance throughout the siege. Many another dwelling in Atlanta suffered as badly
as this one in the clash of arms. During Sherman's final bombardment the city was almost laid in ruins.
Even this was not the end, for after the occupation Captain Poe and his engineers found it necessary,
in laying out the new fortifications, to destroy many more buildings throughout the devastated town.

V~\

0 Atlanta — J$lt?ratau us. Johnatan •$• •*•

take the offensive against Forrest, and with fourteen thou
sand troops, and in a three days' fight, demoralized him badly
at Tupelo, Mississippi, July 14th 17th. Smith returned to
Memphis and made another start for Sherman, when he was
suddenly turned back and sent to Missouri, where the Confed
erate General Price was extremely active, to help Rosecrans.

To avoid final defeat and to win the ground he had
gained had taxed Sherman's powers to the last degree and was
made possible only through his superior numbers. Even this
degree of success could not be expected to continue if the rail
road to the North should be destroyed. But Sherman must
do more than he had done; he must capture Atlanta, this
Richmond of the far South, with its cannon foundries and its
great machine-shops, its military factories, and extensive army
supplies. lie must divide the Confederacy north and south
as Grant's capture of Vicksburg had split it east and west.

Sherman must have Atlanta, for political reasons as well
as for military purposes. The country was in the midst of
a presidential campaign. The opposition to Lincoln's re
election wras strong, and for many weeks it was believed on
all sides that his defeat was inevitable. At least, the success
of the Union arms in the field was deemed essential to Lin
coln's success at the polls. Grant had made little progress in
Virginia and his terrible repulse at Cold Harbor, in June, had
cast a gloom over every Northern State. Farragut was oper
ating in Mobile Bay; but his success was still in the future.

The eyes of the supporters of the great war-president
turned longingly, expectantly, toward General Sherman and
his hundred thousand men before Atlanta. " Do something
— something spectacular — save the party and save the country
thereby from permanent disruption!" This was the cry of
the millions, and Sherman understood it. But withal, the
capture of the Georgia city may have been doubtful but for
the fact that at the critical moment the Confederate Presi
dent made a decision that resulted, unconsciously, in a decided

THE ARMY'S FINGER-TIPS—PICKETS BEFORE ATLANTA

A Federal picket post on the lines before Atlanta. This picture was taken shortly before the battle of

July 2 2(1. The soldiers are idling about unconcerned at exposing themselves; this is on the "reserve post."

Somewhat in advance of this lay the outer line of pickets, and it would be time enough to seek cover if

hey were driven in. Thus armies feel for each other, stretching out first their sensitive fingers — the pickets.

if these recoil, the skirmishers are sent forward while the strong arm, the line of battle, gathers itself

;o meet the foe. As this was an inner line, it was more strongly fortified than was customary with

he pickets. But the men of both sides had become very expert in improvising field-works at this stage

f the war. Hard campaigning had taught the veterans the importance to themselves of providing

such protection, and no orders had to be given for their construction. As soon as a regiment gained a

position desirable to hold, the soldiers would throw up a strong parapet of dirt and logs in a single night.

[n order to spare the men as much as possible, Sherman ordered his division commanders to organize

>ioneer detachments out of the Negroes that escaped to the Federals. These could work at night.

0 Atlanta —

us. SnhttHtmt •*•

service to the Union cause. lie dismissed General Johnston
and put another in his place, one who was less strategic and
more impulsive.

Jefferson Davis did not agree with General Johnston's
military judgment, and he seized on the fact that Johnston
had so steadily retreated before the Northern army as an ex
cuse for his removal. On the 18th of July, Davis turned the
Confederate Army of Tennessee over to General John B.
Hood. A graduate of West Point of the class of 1853, a
classmate of McPherson, Schofield, and Sheridan, Hood had
faithfully served the cause of the South since the opening of
the war. He was known as a fighter, and it was believed that
he would change the policy of Johnston to one of open battle
writli Sherman's army. And so it proved.

Johnston had lost, since the opening of the campaign at
Dalton, about fifteen thousand men, and the army that he now
delivered to Hood consisted of about sixty thousand in all.

While Hood wras no match for Sherman as a strategist,
he was not a weakling. His policy of aggression, however,
was not suited to the circumstances — to the nature of the
country — in view of the fact that Sherman's army was far
stronger than his own.

Two days after Hood took command of the Confederate
army he offered battle. Sherman's forces had crossed Peach
Tree Creek, a small stream flowing into the Chattahoochee,
but a few miles from Atlanta, and were approaching the city.
They had thrown up slight breastworks, as was their custom,
but were not expecting an attack. Suddenly, however, about
four o'clock in the afternoon of July 20th, an imposing col
umn of Confederates burst from the woods near the position
of the Union right center, under Thomas. The Federals
were soon at their guns. The battle was short, fierce, and
bloody. The Confederates made a gallant assault, but were
pressed back to their entrenchments, leaving the ground cov
ered with dead and wounded. The Federal loss in the battle

[130]

Near the tret- seen in the upper picture the
brave and wise McPherson, one of Sherman's
best generals, was killed, July 22d. On the
morning of that day, McPherson, in excellent
spirits, rode up with his staff to Sherman's head
quarters at the Howard House. The night be
fore his troops had gained a position on Leg-
gett's Hill, from which they could look over the
Confederate parapets into Atlanta. McPherson
explained to Sherman that lie was planting bat
teries to knock down a large foundry which the
position commanded. Sitting down on the steps
of the porch, the two generals discussed the
chances of battle and agreed that they ought to
be unusually cautious. McPherson said that
his old classmate Hood, though not deemed much
of a scholar at West Point, was none the less
brave and determined. Walking down the road
the two comrades in arms sat down at the foot
of a tree and examined the Federal positions on
a map. Suddenly the sound of battle broke
upon their ears and rose to the volume of a gen
eral engagement. McPherson, anxious about
his newly gained position, called for his horse

THK SCKNE OF McPHERSON'S DEATH

and rode on". Reaching the battlefield he sent
one orderly after another to bring up troops, and
then riding alone through the woods to gain
another part of the field, ran directly into a
Confederate skirmish line. I'pon his refusal to
surrender a volley brought him lifeless to the
ground. The battle of Atlanta, on July 2"2d,
was Hood's second attempt to repel Sherman's
army that was rapidly throwing its cordon
around the city to the north and threatening to
cut his rail communication with Augusta to tin-
east ward. To prevent this, it was imperative
that the hill gained by McPherson should be
retaken, and Hood thought he saw his oppor
tunity in the thinly extended Federal line near
this position. His abandoned entrenchments
near Peach-Tree Creek were but a ruse to lur,-
Sherman on into advancing incautiously. Sher
man and McPherson had so decided when Hood
began to strike. McPherson's prompt disposi
tions saved the day at the cost of his life. A
skilful soldier, tall and handsome, universally
liked and respected by his comrades, he was cut
off in his prime at the age of thirty-six.

DEBRIS FROM THK BATTLE OF ATLANTA

0 Atlanta — §>hmttau ITS. Snlntsimt

of Peach Tree Creek was placed at over seventeen hundred,
the Confederate loss being much greater. This battle had
been planned by Johnston before his removal, but he had been
waiting for the strategic moment to fight it.

Two days later, July 22d, occurred the greatest engage
ment of the entire campaign — the battle of Atlanta. The
Federal army was closing in on the entrenchments of Atlanta,
and was now within two or three miles of the city. On the
night of the 21st, General Blair, of McPherson's army, had
gained possession of a high hill on the left, which commanded
a view of the heart of the city. Hood thereupon planned to
recapture this hill, and make a general attack on the morning
of the 22d. He sent General Hardee on a long night march
around the extreme flank of McPherson's army, the attack to
be made at daybreak. Meantime, General Cheatham, who had
succeeded to the command of Hood's former corps, and Gen
eral A. P. Stewart, who now had Polk's corps, were to engage
Thomas and Schofield in front and thus prevent them from
sending aid to McPherson.

Hardee was delayed in his fifteen-mile night march, and
it was noon before he attacked. At about that hour Generals
Sherman and McPherson sat talking near the Howard house,
which was the Federal headquarters, when the sudden boom
of artillery from beyond the hill that Blair had captured an
nounced the opening of the coming battle. McPherson quickly
leaped upon his horse and galloped aw* ay toward the sound of
the guns. Meeting Logan and Blair near the railroad, he
conferred with them for a moment, when they separated, and
each hastened to his place in the battle-line. McPherson sent
aides and orderlies in various directions with despatches, until
but two Avere still with him. He then rode into a forest and
was suddenly confronted by a portion of the Confederate
army under General Cheatham. " Surrender," was the call
that rang out. But he wheeled his horse as if to flee, when he
wras instantly shot dead, and the horse galloped back riderless.

THE FINAL BLOW TO THE CONFEDERACY'S SOUTHERN STRONGHOLD

It was Sherman's experienced railroad wreckers that finally drove Hood out of Atlanta. In the picture the rails heating red-hot
amid the flaming bonfires of the ties, and the piles of twisted debris show vividly what Sherman meant when he said their "work was
done with a will." Sherman saw that in order to take Atlanta without terrific loss lie must cut off all its rail communications. This he
did by "taking the field with our main force and using it against the communications of Atlanta instead of against its intrench-
ments." On the night of August 2.5th he moved with practically his entire army and wagon-trains loaded with fifteen days' rations.
By the morning of the 27th the whole front of the city was deserted. The Confederates concluded that Sherman was in retreat.
Next day they found out their mistake, for the Federal army lay across the West Point Railroad while the soldiers began wrecking it.
Next day they were in motion toward the railroad to Macon, and General Hcxxl began to understand that a colossal raid was in
progress. After the occupation, when this picture was taken, Sherman's men completed the work of destruction.

tta. Jnlruaimt

The death of the -brilliant, dashing young leader, James
B. McPherson, was a great blow to the Union army. But
thirty-six years of age, one of the most promising men in the
country, and already the commander of a military department,
McPherson was the only man in all the Western armies whom
Grant, on going to the East, placed in the same military class
with Sherman.

Logan succeeded the fallen commander, and the battle
raged on. The Confederates were gaining headway. They
captured several guns. Cheatham was pressing on, pouring
volley after volley into the ranks of the Army of the Ten
nessee, which seemed about to be cut in twain. A gap was
opening. The Confederates were pouring through. General
Sherman was present and saw the danger. Calling for Scho-
field to send several batteries, he placed them and poured a
concentrated artillery fire through the gap and mowed down
the advancing men in swaths. At the same time, Logan
pressed forward and Schofield's infantry was called up. The
Confederates were hurled back with great loss. The shadows
of night fell — and the battle of Atlanta was over. Hood's
losses exceeded eight thousand of his brave men, whom he
could ill spare. Sherman lost about thirty-seven hundred.

The Confederate army recuperated within the defenses of
Atlanta — behind an almost impregnable barricade. Sherman
had no hope of carrying the cicy by assault, while to surround
and invest it was impossible with his numbers. He deter
mined, therefore, to strike Hood's lines of supplies. On July
28th, Hood again sent Hardee out from his entrenchments to
attack the Army of the Tennessee, now under the command
of General Howard. A fierce battle at Ezra Church on the
west side of the city ensued, and again the Confederates were
defeated with heavy loss.

A month passed and Sherman had made little progress
toward capturing Atlanta. Two cavalry raids which he or
ganized resulted in defeat, but the two railroads from the

[ 134 1

I' I 1 1

•///

'I//

REVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THE RUIN OF HOOD'S RETREAT— DEMOLISHED CARS AND ROLLING-MILL

On the night of August 31st, in his headquarters near Jonesboro, Sherman could not sleep. That day
he had defeated the force sent against him at Jonesboro and cut them off from returning to Atlanta. This
was Hood's last effort to save his communications. About midnight sounds of exploding shells and what
seemed like volleys of musketry arose in the direction of Atlanta. The day had been exciting in that city.
Supplies and ammunition that Hood could carry with him were being removed; large quantities of pro
visions were being distributed among the citizens, and as the troops marched out they were allowed to
take what they could from the public stores. All that remained was destroyed. The noise that Sherman
heard that night was the blowing up of the rolling-mill and of about a hundred cars and six engines loaded
with Hood's abandoned ammunition. The picture shows the Georgia Central Railroad east of the town.

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1864

south into Atlanta were considerably damaged. But, late in
August, the Northern commander made a daring move that
proved successful. Leaving his base of supplies, as Grant had
done before Vicksburg, and marching toward Jonesboro, Sher
man destroyed the Macon and Western Railroad, the only re
maining line of supplies to the Confederate army.

Hood attempted to block the march on Jonesboro, and
ITardee was sent with his and S. D. Lee's Corps to attack the
Federals, while he himself sought an opportunity to move upon
Sherman's right flank. Hardee's attack failed, and this ne
cessitated the evacuation of Atlanta. After blowing up his
magazines and destroying the supplies which his men could
not carry with them, Hood abandoned the city, and the next
day, September 2d, General Slocum, having succeeded
Hooker, led the Twentieth Corps of the Federal army within
its earthen walls. Hood had made his escape, saving his army
from capture. His chief desire would have been to march
directly north on Marietta and destroy the depots of Federal
supplies, but a matter of more importance prevented. Thirty-
four thousand Union prisoners were confined at Andersonville,
and a small body of cavalry could have released them. So
Hood placed himself between Andersonville and Sherman.

In the early days of September the Federal hosts occupied
the city toward which they had toiled all the summer long. At
East Point, Atlanta, and Decatur, the three armies settled for
a brief rest, while the cavalry, stretched for many miles along
the Chattahoochee, protected their flanks and rear. Since May
their ranks had been depleted by some twenty-eight thousand
killed and wounded, while nearly four thousand had fallen pris
oners, into the Confederates' hands.

It was a great price, but whatever else the capture of
Atlanta did, it ensured the reelection of Abraham Lincoln to
the presidency of the United States. The total Confederate
losses were in the neighborhood of thirty-five thousand, of
which thirteen thousand were prisoners.

[138]

PART II
THE SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENTS

IN THE SHENANDOAH

THE CAPITOL IN WAR TIMK

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THE LAST CONFLICTS IN THE
SHENANDOAH

Sheridan's operations were characterized not so much, as lias been
supposed, by any originality of method, as bv a just appreciation of the
proper manner of combining the two arms of infantry and cavalry. He
constantly used his powerful body of horse, which under his disciplined
hand attained a high degree of perfection, as an impenetrable mask l>r-
hind which he screened the execution of maneuvers of infantry columns
hurled with a mighty momentum on one of the enemy's Hanks. — William
Swinton, in "Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac.'1''

OX July 12, 18(>4, in the streets of Washington, there
could be distinctly heard the boom of cannon and the
sharp firing of musketry. The excitement in the city was
intense. The old specter " threaten Washington," that for
three years had been a standing menace to the Federal au
thorities and a " very present help " to the Confederates, now
seemed to have come in the flesh. The hopes of the South and
the fears of the North were apparently about to be realized.

The occasion of this demonstration before the very gates
of the city was the result of General Lee's project to relieve
the pressure on his own army, by an invasion of the border
States and a threatening attitude toward the Union capital.
The plan had worked well before, and Lee believed it again
would be effective. Grant was pushing him hard in front of
Petersburg. Accordingly, Lee despatched the daring soldier,
General Jubal A. Early, to carry the war again to the north
ward. He was to go by the beautiful and fertile Shenandoah
valley, that highway of the Confederates along which the
legions of the South had marched and countermarched until
it had become almost a beaten track.

With that celerity of movement characteristic of Confed-

[142]

THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON IN 186,5

When tlie Capitol at Washington was threatened by the Confederate armies, it was still an unfinished structure, betraying its ineom-
pletenesa to every beholder. This picture shows the derrick on the dome. It is a view of the east front of the building and was taken
on July 11, 1803. Washington society had not been wholly free from occasional "war scares" since the withdrawal of most of the
troops whose duty it had been to guard the city. Early's approach in July. 1804, found the Nation's capital entirely unprotected.
Naturally there was a flutter throughout the peaceable groups of non-combatants that made up the population of Washington at
that time, as well as in official circles. There were less than seventy thousand people living in the city in 1804, a large proportion
of whom were in some wav connected with the Government.

It? 3Ga0t (Etfnflirte in ilj? $

erate marches, General Early prepared to sweep from the
valley the fragmentary hodies of Union troops there collected.
Less than a week after receiving his commission, he encoun
tered the forces of General Hunter at Lynchburg, Virginia.
There was some skirmishing, but Hunter, who did not have
enough ammunition to sustain a real battle, returned west
ward. For three days Early's barefoot, half-clad soldiers fol
lowed the retreating columns of Hunter until the latter had
safely filed his men through the passes of the Blue Ridge
Mountains and into the Kanawha valley.

The Shenandoah valley was now uncovered, but not as
Lee had expected. Believing that if Hunter were defeated
he would retreat down the Valley, Early had been instructed
to follow him into Maryland. But the Federal general had
gone in the other direction, and southwestern Virginia had
thereby been placed in great danger. The question was, how
to draw Hunter from his new position. To pursue him fur
ther would have been a difficult task for Early. So it was
decided to carry out the plans for a march into Maryland, in
the hope of luring Hunter from his lair. So Early turned
to the north with his seventeen thousand troops, and marching
under the steady glare of a July sun, two weeks later, his
approach was the signal for the Union troops at Martins-
burg, under Sigel, to fall back across the Potomac to Mary
land Heights. The road to Washington was thus blocked at
Harper's Ferry, where Early intended to cross. He there
fore was compelled to get over at Shepherdstown, while
Breckenridge engaged Sigel at Harper's Ferry. Once across
the river, Early's scouting parties quickly destroyed miles of
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, cut the embankments and
locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, levied contributions
upon the citizens of Hagerstown and Frederick, and pushed
their tattered ranks of gray in the direction of the Federal
capital. On the 9th of July, the advance lines of the Confed
erate force came to the banks of the Monocacy, where they

[144]

EVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

PROTECTING LOCOMOTIVES FROM THE CONFEDERATE RAIDER

p United States railroad photographer, Captain A. J. Russell, labeled this picture of 18G4: "Engines stored in Washington to pre-
it their falling into Rebel hands in case of a raid on Alexandria." Here they are, almost under the shadow of the Capitol dome
lich had just been completed). This was one of the precautions taken by the authorities at Washington, of which the general
)lic knew little or nothing at the time. These photographs are only now revealing official secrets recorded fifty years ago.

ONE OF WASHINGTON'S DEFENDERS

ivy artillery like this was of comparatively little use in repulsing such an attack as Early might be expected to make. Not only
e these guns hard to move to points of danger, but in the summer of '64 there were no trained artillerists to man them. Big as
f were, they gave Early no occasion for alarm.

Hast Qkufltria ttt tlj?

found General Lew Wallace posted, with eight thousand men,
half of Early 's numbers, on the eastern side of that stream, to
contest the approach of the Southern troops.

The battle was brief but bloody; the Confederates, cross
ing the stream and climbing its slippery banks, hurled their
lines of gray against the compact ranks of blue. The attack
was impetuous ; the repulse was stubborn. A wail of musketry
rent the air and the Northern soldiers fell back to their second
position. Between the opposing forces was a narrow ravine
through which flowed a small brook. Across this stream the
tide of battle rose and fell. Its limpid current was soon crim
soned by the blood of the dead and wounded. Wallace's col
umns, as did those of Early, bled, but they stood. The result
of the battle for a time hung in the balance. Then the Federal
lines began to crumble. The retreat began, some of the troops
in order but the greater portion in confusion, and the victo
rious Confederates found again an open way to Washington.

Now within half a dozen miles of the city, with the dome
of the Capitol in full view, the Southern general pushed his
lines so close to Fort Stevens that he was ready to train his
forty pieces of artillery upon its walls.

General Augur, in command of the capital's defenses,
hastily collected what strength in men and guns he could.
Heavy artillery, militia, sailors from the navy yard, convales
cents, Government employees of all kinds were rushed to the
forts around the city. General Wright, with two divisions of
the Sixth Corps, arrived from the camp at Petersburg, and
Emory's division of the Nineteenth Corps came just in time
from New Orleans. This was on July llth, the very day on
which Early appeared in front of Fort Stevens. The Con
federate had determined to make an assault, but the knowledge
of the arrival of Wright and Emory caused him to change his
mind. He realized that, if unsuccessful, his whole force would
be lost, and he concluded to return. Nevertheless, he spent

the 12th of July in threatening the city. In the middle of

f 146 1

July
1864

ENTRANCE TO WASHINGTON FROM THE SOITII— THE FAMOUS "CHAIN BRIDGE"

The sentry and vedette guarding the approach to Washington suggest one reason why Early did not make his approach to the capital
from the Virginia side of the Potomac. A chain of more than twenty forts protected the roads to Long Bridge (shown below), and
there was no way of marching troops into the city from the south, excepting over such exposed passages. Most of the troops left for
the defense of the city were on the Virginia side. Therefore Early wisely picked out the northern outposts as the more vulnerable.
Long Bridge was closely guarded at all times, like Chain Bridge and the other approaches, and at night the planks of its floor were
removed.

LONG BRIDGE AND THE CAPITOL ACROSS THE BROAD POTOMAC

Ohmfttrta in

•*•

the afternoon General Wright sent out General Wheaton with
Bidwell's brigade of Getty's division, and Early's pickets and
skirmishers were driven back a mile.

This small engagement had many distinguished spec
tators. Pond in " The Shenandoah Valley " thus describes
the scene: " On the parapet of Fort Stevens stood the tall
form of Abraham Lincoln by the side of General Wright, who
in vain warned the eager President that his position was swept
by the bullets of sharpshooters, until an officer was shot down
within three feet of him, when he reluctantly stepped below.
Sheltered from the line of fire, Cabinet officers and a group of
citizens and ladies, breathless with excitement, watched the
fortunes of the fight."

Under cover of night the Confederates began to retrace
their steps and made their way to the Shenandoah, with Gen
eral Wright in pursuit. As the Confederate army was cross
ing that stream, at Snicker's Ferry, on the 18th, the pursuing
Federals came upon them. Early turned, repulsed them, and
continued on his way to Winchester, where General Averell,
from Hunter's forces, now at Harper's Ferry, attacked them
with his cavalry and took several hundred prisoners, two days
later. The LTnion troops under Wright returned to the de
fenses of Washington.

The Confederate army now became a shuttlecock in the
game of war, marching and countermarching up and down,
in and across, the valley of the Shenandoah, in military ma
neuvers, with scarcely a day of rest. This fruitful valley was
to be the granary for its supplies. From it, as a base of op
erations, Early would make his frequent forays — a constant
menace to the peace of the authorities at Washington.

General Crook was sent up the Valley after him, but at
Kernstown, near Winchester, on July 24th, he met a disas
trous defeat and made his way to the north side of the Poto
mac. Early, now in undisputed possession of the Valley,
followed him to Martinsburg and sent his cavalry across the

148]

GENERAL JUBAL A. EARLY, THE CONFED
ERATE RAIDER WHO THREATENED
WASHINGTON

"My bad old man," as General Lee playfully called
him, was forty-eight years of age when he made the
brilliant Valley campaign of the summer of 1864,
which was halted only by the superior forces of
Sheridan. A West Point graduate and a veteran of
the Mexican War, Early became, after the death of
Jackson, one of Lee's most efficient subordinates.
He was alert, aggressive, resourceful. His very
eccentricities, perhaps, made him all the more suc
cessful as a commander of troops in the field. "Old
Jube's" caustic wit and austere ways made him a
terror to stragglers, and who shall say that his fluent,
forcible profanity did not endear him to men
who were accustomed to like roughness of speech?

Hast Qlnnfltrte in tljr J5>ljeuan&0atf *

border river. With a bold movement General McCausland
swept into Chambersburg and demanded a ransom of war.
Compliance was out of the question and the torch was applied
to the town, which in a short time was reduced to ashes. Gen
eral Averell dashed in pursuit of McCausland and forced him
to recross the Potomac.

The Federal authorities were looking for a " man of the
hour " —one whom they might pit against the able and stra
tegic Early. Such a one was found in General Philip Henry
Sheridan, whom some have called the " Marshal Ney of Amer
ica." He was selected by General Grant, and his instructions
were to drive the Confederates out of the Valley and to make
it untenable for any future military operations.

It was a magnificent setting for military genius. The
men, the armies, and the beautiful valley combined to make
it one of the great strategic campaigns of the war. The
Union forces comprising the Army of the Shenandoah, as it
was afterward called, amounted to about twenty-seven thou
sand men; the Confederates, to about twenty thousand. There
was over a month of preliminary skirmishing and righting.
Cavalry raiders from both armies were darting hither and
thither. Sheridan pushed up the Valley and fell back again
toward the Potomac. Early followed him, only to retreat
in turn toward Winchester, Sheridan now being pursuer.
Both generals were watching an opportunity to strike. Both
seemed anxious for battle, but both were sparring for the time
and place to deliver an effective blow.

The middle of September found the Confederate forces
centered about Winchester, and the Union army was ten miles
distant, with the Opequon between them. At two o'clock on
the morning of September 19th, the Union camp was in mo
tion, preparing for marching orders. At three o'clock the
forward movement was begun, and by daylight the Federal
advance had driven in the Confederate pickets. Emptying
into the Opequon from the west are two converging streams,

150]

A HOUSE NEAR WASHINGTON STRUCK BY ONE OF EARLVS SHELLS

The arrival of Grant's trained veterans in July, 18f>4, restored security to the capital city after a week of fright. The fact that shells
had been thrown into the outskirts of the city gave the inhabitants for the first time a realizing sense of immediate danger. This
scene is the neighborhood of Fort Stevens, on the Seventh Street road, not far from the Soldiers' Home, where President Lincoln
was spending the summer. The campaign for his reelection had begun and the outlook for his success and that of his party seemed
at this moment as dubious as that for the conclusion of the war. Grant had weakened his lines about Richmond in order to protect
Washington, while Lee had been able to detach Early's Corps for the brilliant Valley Campaign, which saved his Shenandoah supplies.

forming a triangle with the Winchester and Martinsburg pike
as a base.

The town of Winchester is situated on this road, and was
therefore at the bottom of the triangle. Before the town, the
Confederate army stretched its lines between the two streams.
The Union army would have to advance from the apex of the
triangle, through a narrow ravine, shut in by thickly wooded
hills and gradually emerging into an undulating valley. At
the end of the gorge was a Confederate outwork, guarding the
approach to Winchester. Both generals had the same plan of
battle in mind. Sheridan would strike the Confederate center
and right. Early was willing he should do this, for he planned
to strike the Union right, double it back, get between Sheri
dan's army and the gorge, and thus cut off its retreat.

It took time for the Union troops to pass through the
ravine, and it was late in the forenoon before the line of battle
was formed. The attack and defense were alike obstinate.
Upon the Sixth Corps and Grover's division of the Nineteenth
Corps fell the brunt of the battle, since they MTere to hold the
center while the Army of West Virginia, under General Crook,
would sweep around them and turn the position of the op
posing forces. The Confederate General Ramseur, with his
troops, drove back the Federal center, held his ground for
two hours, while the opposing lines were swept by musketry
and artillery from the front, and enfiladed by artillery. Many
Federal prisoners were taken.

By this time, Russell's division of the Sixth Corps emerged
from the ravine. Forming in two lines, it marched quickly to
the front. About the same time the Confederates were also
being reenforced. General Rodes plunged into the fight, mak
ing a gallant attack and losing his life. General Gordon, with
his columns of gray, swept across the summit of the hills and
through the murky clouds of smoke saw the steady advance of
the lines of blue. One of Russell's brigades struck the Con
federate flank, and the Federal line was reestablished. As the

[152]

THE FIRST ( ONNECTKTT HEAVY ARTILLERY, ASSIGNED TO THE DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON*

When Early approached Washington from the north, in 1864, the crack artillery companies, like that represented in the photograph
(the First Connecticut Heavy), had all left the city to its fate. In the spring of 1804, as this picture was taken, just before the be
ginning of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, Colonel Tyler was in the act of examining a despatch at the sally-port of Fort Richardson,
Arlington Heights, Virginia. During the first two years of the war the Government devoted a great part of its energies to the de
velopment of a strong line of fortifications around the capital city, on both sides of the Potomac. Washington's nearness to the Con
federate lines made such precautions necessary. The political significance of a possible capture of the national capital by the Con
federates was fully appreciated. The retaining of large bodies of troops for the protection of Washington was a fixed policy during
1861 and 1862, as the first commander of the Army of the Potomac knew to his sorrow. As the war wore on, the increasing need of
troops for the investment of Richmond, coupled with the apparent security of the capital, led to a reversal of that policy. Washington
was practically abandoned, in a military sense, save for the retention of a few regiments of infantry, including a very small proportion
of men who had seen actual fighting, and the forts were garrisoned chiefly by raw recruits.

ICast dmtfltrte in tte

Sept.
1864

division moved forward to do this General Russell fell, pierced
through the heart by a piece of shell.

The Fifth Maine battery, galloping into the field, unlim-
bered and with an enfilading storm of canister aided in turn
ing the tide. Piece by piece the shattered Union line was
picked up and reunited. Early sent the last of his reserves
into the conflict to turn the Union right. Now ensued the
fiercest fighting of the day. Regiment after regiment ad
vanced to the wood only to be hurled back again. Here it
was that the One hundred and fourteenth Xew York left
its dreadful toll of men. Its position after the battle could
be told by the long, straight line of one hundred and eighty-
five of its dead and wounded.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon ; the hour of Early's
repulse had struck. To the right of the Union lines could be
heard a mighty yell. The Confederates seemed to redouble
their fire. The shivering lightning bolts shot through the air
and the volleys of musketry increased in intensity. Then, across
the shell-plowed field, came the reserves under General Crook.
Breasting the Confederate torrent of lead, which cut down
nine hundred of the reserves while crossing the open space, they
rushed toward the embattled lines of the South.

At the same moment, coming out of the woods in the rear
of the Federals, were seen the men of the Nineteenth Corps
under General Emory, who had for three hours been lying in
the grass awaiting their opportunity. The Confederate bul
lets had been falling thick in their midst with fatal certainty.
They were eager for action. Rushing into the contest like
madmen, they stopped at nothing. From two sides of the
wood the men of Emory and Crook charged simultaneously.
The Union line overlapped the Confederate at every point and
doubled around the unprotected flanks. The day for the
Southerners was irretrievably lost. They fell back toward
Winchester in confusion. As they did so, a great uproar was
heard on the pike road. It was the Federal cavalry under

[154]

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WHERE LINCOLN WAS UNDER FIRE

This is Fort Stevens (originally known as Fort Massachusetts), north of Washington, near the Soldiers'
Home, where President Lincoln had his summer residence. It was to this outpost that Early 's troops
advanced on July 12, 1804. In the fighting of that day Lincoln himself stood on the ramparts, and a
surgeon who stood by his side was wounded. These works were feebly garrisoned, and General Gordon
declared in his memoirs that when the Confederate troops reached Fort Stevens they found it untenanted.
This photograph was taken after the occupation of the fort by Company F of the Third Massachusetts
Artillerv.

Hast (Emtfltrte m tfy?

General Torbert sweeping up the road, driving the Confed
erate troopers before them. The surprised mass was pressed
into its own lines. The infantry was charged and many pris
oners and battle-flags captured.

The sun was now sinking upon the horizon, and on the
ascending slopes in the direction of the town could be seen the
long, dark lines of men following at the heels of the routed
army. Along the crest of the embattled summit galloped a
force of cavalrymen, which, falling upon the disorganized regi
ments of Early, aided, in the language of Sheridan, " to send
them whirling through Winchester." The Union pursuit con
tinued until the twilight had come and the shadows of night
screened the scattered forces of Karly from the pursuing cav
alrymen. The battle of Winchester, or the Opequon, had been
a bloody one — a loss of five thousand on the Federal side, and
about four thousand on the Confederate.

By daylight of the following morning the victorious army
was again in pursuit. On the afternoon of that day, it caught
up with the Confederates, who nowr turned at bay at Fisher's
Hill to resist the further approach of their pursuers. The posi
tion selected by General Karly was a strong one, and his antag
onist at once recognized it as such. The valley of the Shenan-
doah at this point is about four miles wide, lying between
Fisher's Hill and Little North Mountain. General Karly's
line extended across the entire valley, and he had greatly in
creased his already naturally strong position. His army seemed
safe from attack. From the summit of Three Top Mountain,
his signal corps informed him of every movement of the Union
army in the valley below. General Sheridan's actions indicated
a purpose to assault the center of the Confederate line. For
two days he continued massing his regiments in that direction,
at times even skirmishing for position. General Wright pushed
his men to within seven hundred yards of the Southern battle-
line. While this was going on in full view of the Confederate
general and his army, another movement was being executed

[156]

WAR DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS AND CLERKS IN WAR-TIME

Non-combatants of this type formed the main reliance of the authorities against Early 's veterans in July,
1864. The forces available, prior to the arrival of the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps from Grant's army, are
summarized by General Barnard thus: "The effective forces were 1,819 infantry, 1,834 artillery, and 03
cavalry north of the Potomac, and 4,0(54 infantry, 1,77C2 artillery, and 51 cavalry south thereof. There
were besides, in Washington and Alexandria, about 3,000 effectives and about 4,400 (six regiments) of
Veteran Reserves. The foregoing constitute a total of about L20,400 men. Of that number, however, but
0,000, mostly perfectly raw troops, constituted the garrison of the defenses. Of the other troops, a consid
erable portion were unavailable, and the whole would form but an inefficient force for service on the lines."

R«^ 'I

(Emtflirtii tu llir J5>ltntauimalt

which even the vigilant signal officers on Three Top Mountain
had not ohscrvcd.

On the night of September 20th, the troops of General
Crook were moved into the timber on the north bank of Cedar
Creek. All during the next day, they lay concealed. That
night they crossed the stream and the next morning were again
hidden by the woods and ravines. At five o'clock on the morn
ing of the 22d, Crook's men were nearly opposite the Con
federate center. Marching his men in perfect silence, by one
o'clock he had arrived at the left and front of the unsuspecting
Karly. By four o'clock he had reached the east face of Little
North Mountain, to the left and rear of the Confederates.
While the movement was being made, the main body of the
Federal army was engaging the attention of the Confederates
in front. Just be lore sundown. Crook's men plunged down
the mountain side, from out of the timbered cover. The Con
federates were quick to see that they had been trapped. They
had been caught in a pocket and there was nothing for them
to do exeept to retreat or surrender. They preferred the
former, which was, according to General Gordon, " first stub
born and slow, then rapid, then — a rout."

After the battle of Fisher's Tlill the pursuit still continued.
The Confederate regiments re-formed, and at times would
stop and contest the approach of the advancing cavalrymen.
By the time the Union infantry would reach the place, the
retreating army would have vanished. Torbert had been sent
down Ijiiray Valley in pursuit of the Confederate cavalry, with
the hope of scattering it and seizing New Market in time to
cut ofr' the Confederate retreat from Fisher's Hill. But at
Milford, in a narrow gorge, General Wickham held Torbert
and prevented the fulfilment of his plan; and General Karly's
whole force was able to escape. Day after day this continued
until Karly had taken refuge in the Blue Ridge in front of
Brown's Gap. Here he received reenforcements. Sheridan
in the mean time had gone into cam]) at Ilarrisonburg, and for

I 158 1

x^ ./

.JS

•^*t%/"

MiSr

A MARYLAND VILLAdK ON THK LINK OF KARLY'S RKTRKAT

I'liis is u winter scene in Poolesville, a typical village in this part of Maryland, overrun for the last time
»y Confederate armies in the summer of 18(51-. Karly passed through the place on his second day's march
Vom Washington, closely pursued by General Wright's force of Federals. After Karly had made good
lis escape and threatened to levy heavy toll on the defenseless communities of Maryland and Pennsyl
vania if he were not vigorously opposed, Grant selected Sheridan for the task of clearing the Valley of
'on federates and finally destroying its value as a source of supplies for Lee's army. Sheridan waited
mtil Karly had been seriously weakened before he assaulted him; but when he struck, tin; blows were
lelivered with tremendous energy. The battles of the Opequon, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek (the latter
nade memorable by Read's famous poem, "Sheridan's Ride"j, drove Karly back to New Market and
.vholly broke the Confederate? power in that part of Virginia. This photograph (loaned by Mr. (icor^e
V. Brackett, of Annapolis), was taken when the Ki^hth Minnesota held it, in the winter of 18(5^.

ICaat (E0ufltrt0 in tip

some time the two armies lay watching each other. The Fed
erals were having difficulty in holding their lines of supply.

With the Valley practically given up by Early, Sheridan
was anxious to stop here. He wrote to Grant, " I think the
best policy will be to let the burning of the crops in the Valley
be the end of the campaign, and let some of this army go some
where else." He had the Petersburg line in mind. Grant's
consent to this plan reached him on October oth, and the fol
lowing day he started 011 his return march down the Shenan-
doah. His cavalry extended across the entire valley. With
the unsparing severity of war, his men began to make a barren
waste of the region. The October sky was overcast with clouds
of smoke and sheets of flame from the burning barns and mills.

As the army of Sheridan proceeded down the Valley, the
undaunted cavaliers of Early came in pursuit. His horsemen
kept close to the rear of the Union columns. On the morning
of October 9th, the cavalry leader, Rosser, who had succeeded
Wickham, found himself confronted by General Cluster's divi
sion, at Tom's Brook. At the same time the Federal general,
Wesley Merritt, fell upon the cavalry of Lomax and Johnson
on an adjacent road. The two Union forces were soon united
and a mounted battle ensued. The fight continued for two
hours. There were charges and countercharges. The ground
being level, the maneuvering of the squadrons was easy. The
clink of the sabers rang out in the morning air. Both sides
fought with tenacity. The Confederate center held together,
but its flanks gave way. The Federals charged along the
whole front, with a momentum that forced the Southern cav
alrymen to flee from the field. They left in the hands of the
Federal troopers over three hundred prisoners, all their artil
lery, except one piece, and nearly every wagon the Confederate
cavalry had with them.

The Northern army continued its retrograde movement,
and on the 10th crossed to the north side of Cedar Creek.
Early's army in the mean time had taken a position at the

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wooded base of Fisher's Hill, four miles away. The Sixth
Corps started for Washington, but the news of Early at Fish
er's Hill led to its recall. The Union forces occupied ground
that was considered practically unassailable, especially on the
left, where the deep gorge of the Shenandoah, along whose
front rose the bold Massanutten Mountain, gave it natural
protection.

The movements of the Confederate army were screened by
the wooded ravines in front of Fisher's Hill, while, from the
summit of the neighboring Three Top Mountain, its officers
could view, as in a panorama, the entire Union camp. Seem
ingly secure, the corps of Crook on the left of the Union line
was not well protected. The keen-eyed Gordon saw the weak
point in the Union position. Ingenious plans to break it down
were quickly made.

Meanwhile, Sheridan was summoned to Washington to
consult with Secretary Stanton. He did not believe that Early
proposed an immediate attack, and started on the loth, escorted
by the cavalry, and leaving General Wright in command. At
Front Royal the next day word came from Wright enclosing
a message taken for the Confederate signal-flag on Three Top
Mountain. It was from Longstreet, advising Early that he
would join him and crush Sheridan. The latter sent the cav
alry back to Wright, and continued on to Washington, whence
he returned at once by special train, reaching Winchester on
the evening of the 18th.

Just after dark on October 18th, a part of Early 's army
under the command of General John 15. Gordon, with noiseless
steps, moved out from their camp, through the misty, autumn
night. The men had been stripped of their canteens, in fear
that the striking of them against some object might reveal
their movements. Orders were given in low whispers. Their
path followed along the base of the mountain — a dim and nar
row trail, upon which but one man might pass at a time. For
seven miles this sinuous line made its way through the dark

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gorge, crossing the Shenandoah, and at times passing within
four hundred yards of the Union pickets.

It arrived at the appointed place, opposite Crook's camp
on the Federal right, an hour before the attack was to be made.
In the shivering air of the early morning, the men crouched on
the river bank, waiting for the coming of the order to move
forward. At last, at rive o'clock, it came. They plunged into
the frosty water of the river, emerged on the other side,
marched in " double quick," and were soon sounding a reveille
to the sleeping troops of Sheridan. The minie balls whizzed
and sang through the tents. In the gray mists of the dawn
the legions of the South looked like phantom warriors, as they
poured through the unmanned gaps. The Northerners sprang
to arms. There was a bloody struggle in the trenches. Their
eyes saw the flames from the Southern muskets; the men felt
the breath of the hot muzzles in their faces, while the Confed
erate bayonets were at their breasts. There was a brief strug
gle, then panic and disorganization. Only a quarter of an
hour of this yelling and struggling, and two-thirds of the
Union army broke like a mill-dam and poured across the fields,
leaving their accouterments of war and the stiffening bodies
of their comrades. Rosser, with the cavalry, attacked Custer
and assisted Gordon.

Meanwhile, during these same early morning hours, Gen
eral Early had himself advanced to Cedar Creek by a more
direct route. At half-past three o'clock his men had come in
sight of the Union camp-fires. They waited under cover for
the approach of day. At the first blush of dawn and before the
charge of Gordon, Early hurled his men across the stream,
swept over the breastworks, captured the batteries and turned
them upon the unsuspecting Northerners. The Federal gener
als tried to stem the impending disaster. From the east of the
battlefield the solid lines of Gordon were now driving the fugi
tives of Crook's corps by the mere force of momentum. Aides
were darting hither and thither, trying to reassemble the

[164]

W? Jl<

£35

GENERAL PHILIP H. SHERIDAN IN THE SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN

Two generations of schoolboys in the Northern States have learned the lines
beginning, "I p from the south at break of day." This picture represents Sheri
dan in 180-1, wearing the same hat that he waved to rally his soldiers on that
famous ride from "Winchester, twenty miles away." As he reined up his panting
horse on the turnpike at Cedar ("reek, he received salutes from two future Presi
dents of the United States. The position on the left of the road was held by
Colonel Rutherford H. Hayes, who had succeeded, after the rout of the Eighth
Corps in the darkness of the early morning, in rallying some fighting groups of
his own brigade ; while on the right stood Major William McKinley, gallantly
commanding the remnant of his fighting regiment — the Twenty-sixth Ohio.

ICast GJ0ttfltrte in tlr?

Oct.
1804

„•

crumbling lines. The Nineteenth Corps, under Emory, tried
to hold its ground; for a time it fought alone, but after a des
perate effort to hold its own, it, too, melted away under the
scorching fire. The fields to the rear of the army were covered
with wagons, ambulances, stragglers, and fleeing soldiers.

The Sixth Corps now came to the rescue. As it slowly
fell to the rear it would, at times, turn to fight. At last it
found a place where it again stood at bay. The men hastily
gathered rails and constructed rude field-works. At the same
time the Confederates paused in their advance. The rattle of
musketry ceased. There was scarcely any firing except for the
occasional roar of a long-range artillery gun. The Southern
ers seemed willing to rest on their well-earned laurels of the
morning. In the language of the successful commander, it was
" glory enough for one day."

But the brilliant morning victory wras about to be changed
to a singular afternoon defeat. During the morning's fight,
when the Union troops were being rapidly overwhelmed with
panic, Rienzi, the beautiful jet-black war-charger, was bearing
his master, the commander of the Federal army, to the field of
disaster. Along the broad valley highway that leads from
Winchester, General Sheridan had galloped to where his em
battled lines had been reduced to a flying mob. While riding
leisurely away from Winchester about nine o'clock he had
heard unmistakable thunder-peals of artillery. Realizing that
a battle wras on in the front, he hastened forward, soon to be
met, as he crossed Mill Creek, by the trains and men of his
routed army, coming to the rear with appalling rapidity.

News from the field told him of the crushing defeat of
his hitherto invincible regiments. The road was blocked by
the retreating crowds as they pressed toward the rear. The
commander wras forced to take to the fields, and as his steed,
flecked with foam, bore him onward, the disheartened refugees
greeted him with cheers. Taking off his hat as he rode, he
cried, " We will go back and recover our camps." The words

[166]

2JTV

SHERIDAN'S CAVALRY IN THE SHENANDOAH— GENERAL TORBERT AND HIS STAFF

Sheridan appointed General Alfred T. A. Torbert Chief of Cavalry of the Army of the Shenandoah in August, 18C4. General Tor-
bert had been a regular army officer and was now a major-general of volunteers. This photograph was taken in 18G4, on the vine-
covered veranda of a Virginia mansion occupied as headquarters. In all the operations in the Valley during September and
October, Sheridan made such good use of the cavalry that this branch of the service leaped into prominence, and received a goodly
share of the praise for eliminating the Valley of Virginia from the field of war.

tti tlte

seemed to inspire the demoralized soldiers. Stragglers fell
into line behind him; men turned to follow their magnetic
leader back to the fight.

Vaulting his horse over the low barricade of rails, he
dashed to the crest of the field. There was a flutter along the
battle-line. The men from behind their protecting wall broke
into thunderous cheers. From the rear of the soldiers there
suddenly arose, as from the earth, a line of the regimental flags,
which waved recognition to their leader. Color-bearers reas
sembled. The straggling lines re-formed. Early made an
other assault after one o'clock, but was easily repulsed.

It was nearly four o'clock when the order for the Federal
advance was given. General Sheridan, hat in hand, rode in
front of his infantry line that his men might see him. The
Confederate forces now occupied a series of wooded crests.
From out of the shadow of one of these timbered coverts, a col
umn of gray was emerging. The Union lines stood waiting
for the impending crash. It came in a devouring succession
of volleys that reverberated into a deep and sullen roar. The
Union infantry rose as one man and passed in among the trees.
Xot a shot wras heard. Then, suddenly, there came a scream
ing, humming rush of shell, a roar of musketry mingling with
the yells of a successful charge. Again the firing ceased, except
for occasional outbursts. The Confederates had taken a new
position and reopened with a galling fire. General Sheridan
dashed along the front of his lines in personal charge of the
attack. Again his men moved toward the lines of Early 's
fast thinning ranks. It was the final charge. The Union
cavalry swept in behind the fleeing troops of Early and sent,
again, his veteran army " whirling up the Valley."

The battle of Cedar Creek was ended; the tumult died
away. The Federal loss had been about fifty-seven hundred;
the Confederate over three thousand. Fourteen hundred
Union prisoners were sent to Richmond. Never again would
the gaunt specter of war hover over Washington.

PART III
CLOSING IN

CONFEDERATE GARRISON COOKING DINNER
IN RUINED SUMTER 1864

MAKING SAND-BAGS INSIDE FORT SUMTER IN 1864

traveled thousands of miles and wrote thousands
of letters in the search for such photographs. Of
the priceless examples and specimens, several
are here reproduced. How rare such pictures are
may be judged by the fact that some of the men
prominent and active in the circles of Confed
erate veterans, together with families of former
Confederate generals and leaders, were unable
to lay their hands on any such pictures. The
natural disappointment in the South at the end
of the war was such that photographers were
forced to destroy all negatives, just as owners
destroyed all the objects that might serve as
souvenirs or relics of the terrible struggle, think
ing, for the moment at least, that they could not
bear longer the strain of brooding over the
tragedy. Constant ferreting, following up
clues, digging in dusty garrets amid relics buried
generations ago, interviews with organizations
like the Daughters of the Confederacy (to the
Charleston chapter of which acknowledgment
must be made for the picture of the Charleston
Zouaves) — only after such exertions did it be
come possible to show on these pages the coun
tenances and bearing and drill of the men who
held Charleston against the ever-increasing
momentum of the Northern power.

The story of how these photographs in uncon-
quered Sumter were secured is a romance in itself.
No one, North or South, can escape a thrill at the
knowledge that several of them were actually taken
in the beleaguered port by George S. Cook, the Con
federate photographer. This adventurous spirit was
one of the enterprising and daring artists who are
now and then found ready when and where great
events impend. He had risked his life in 1863,
taking photographs of the Federal fleet as it was
bombarding Sumter. The next year, while the
magnificent organization of the Northern armies
was closing in day by day; while the stores and
homes and public buildings of Charleston were
crumbling into pitiful ruins under the bombard
ment; while slices and clothing and food were soar
ing to unheard-of prices in the depreciated Confed
erate currency, Cook still ingeniously secured his
precious chemicals from the New York firm of
Anthony & Co., which, curiously enough, was the
same that supplied Brady. Cook's method was to
smuggle his chemicals through as quinine! It is
only the most fortunate of chances that preserved
these photographs of the Confederates defending
Charleston through the nearly half century which
elapsed between their taking and the publication of
the PHOTOGRAPH HISTORY. Editors of the work

THE TOTTERING WALLS OF THE FORT SHORED UP

THE CONFEDERATE CAMP WASHINGTON. LOCKED IN ON THE SANDY BEACH NEAR SULLIVAN INLET
WHERE THE SOUTH CAROLINA WARRIORS MAINTAINED THEIR MILITARY POST FOR FOUR YEARS

OF REVIEWS CO.

CHARLESTON'S FAMOUS ZOUAVE CADETS DRILLING AT CASTLE PINCKNEY

REMAINS OF THE CIRCULAR CHURCH AND "SECESSION HALL,'
WHERE SOUTH CAROLINA DECIDED TO LEAVE THE UNION

"Prodigies of talent, audacity, intrepidity, and
perseverance were exhibited in the attack, as in
the defense of the city, which will assign to the
siege of Charleston an exceptional place in mili
tary annals." Thus spoke the expert of the
French Journal of Military Science in 18(i,5, only
a few months after this attack and defense had
passed into history. Charleston was never
captured. It was evacuated only after Sher
man's advance through the heart of South Caro
lina had done what over five hundred and fifty-
seven days of continuous attack and siege by
the Federal army and navy could not do — •
make it untenable. When, on the night of
February 17, 18G5, Captain II. Huguenin, lan
tern in hand, made his last silent rounds of the
deserted fort and took the little boat for shore,
there ended the four years' defense of Fort Sum-
ter, a feat of war unsurpassed in ancient or
modern times — eclipsing (says an English mili
tary critic) "such famous passages as Sale's de
fense of Jellalabud against the Afghans and
Havelock's obdurate tenure of the residency at
Lucknow." Charleston with its defenses — Forts
Sumter, Moultric, Wagner, and Castle Pinck-
ney from the sea and the many batteries on the
land side — was the heart of the Confederacy,

and some of the most vigorous efforts of the
Federal forces were made- to capture it. Though
"closed in" upon more than once, it never sur
rendered. But beleaguered it certainly was, in
the sternest sense of the word. It is a marvel
how the photographer, Cook, managed to get
his supplies past the Federal army on one side
and the Federal blockading fleet on the other.
Yet there he remained at his post, catching
with his lens the ruins of the uncaptured fort
and the untaken city in 1804.. How well he
made these pictures may be seen on the pages
preceding and the lower picture opposite. They
furnish a glimpse into American history that most
people — least of all the Confederate veterans
themselves — never expected to enjoy. Those
who actually knew what it was to be besieged
in Petersburg, invaded in Georgia, starved in
Tennessee, or locked up by a blockading fleet —
such veterans have been astonished to find these
authenticated photographs of the garrison be
leaguered in the most important of Sou them ports.

ON " THE BATTERY," CHARLESTON'S SPACIOUS PROMENADE

INSIDE FORT MOfLTKIE LOOKING EASTWARD OUTSIDE FOKT JOHNSON — SUMTER IN THE DISTANCE

GRIM-VISAC.EI) AVAR ALONG THE PALMETTO SHORE-LINE OF CHARLESTON HARBOR

THE DESOLATE INTERIOR OF SUMTER IN SEPTEMBER, 1863, AFTER THE GUNS OF THE FEDERAL FLEET

HAD BEEN POUNDING IT FOR MANY WEEKS

IN CHARLESTON AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT

So long as the Confederate flag flew over the ramparts of Sumter,
Charleston remained the one stronghold of the South that was
firmly held. That flag was never struck. It was lowered for an
evacuation, not a surrender. The story of Charleston's deter
mined resistance did not end in triumph for the South, but it did
leave behind it a sunset glory, in which the valor and dash of the
Federal attack is paralleled by the heroism and self-sacrifice of
the Confederate defense, in spite of wreck and ruin.

PART III
CLOSING IN

THE INVESTMENT
OF PETERSBURG

ON GRANT S CITY POINT RAILROAD — A NEW KIND
OF SIEGE GUN

WHERE THE PHOTOGRAPHER "DREW EIRE"

Juno 21, 18(54, is the exact date of the photograph that made this picture and those on the three following pages. A story goes with
them, told by one of the very men pictured here. As he looked at it forty-six years later, how vividly the whole scene came hack to
him! This is Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, known as Cooper's Battery of the Fifth Corps, under General G. K. Warren.
On the forenoon of this bright June day, Brady, the photographer, drove his light wagon out to the entrenchments. The Confederates
lay along the sky-line near where rose the ruined chimney of a house belonging to a planter named Taylor. Approaching Captain
Cooper, Brady politely asked if he could take a picture of the battery, when just about to fire. At the command, from force of habit,
the men jumped to their positions. Hardly a face was turned toward the camera. They might be oblivious of its existence. The can
noneer rams home a charge. The gunner "thumbs the vent" — but "our friend the enemy" just over the hill observes the movement,

JP. ^ fcr

THE MAX WHO REMEMBERED

and, thinking it means business, opens up. Away goes Brady's horse, scattering chemicals and plates. The gun in the foreground
is ready to send a shell across the open ground, but Captain Cooper reserves his fire. Brady, seeing his camera is uninjured, recalls
his assistant and takes the other photographs, moving his instrument a little to the rear. And the man who saw it then, sees it all
again to-day just as it was. He is even able to pick out many of the men by name. Their faces come back to him. Turning the
page, may be seen Captain James H. Cooper, leaning on his sword, and Lieutenant Alcorn, on the extreme right. In the photograph
above is Lieutenant Miller, back of the gun. Lieutenant James A. Gardner was the man who saw all this, and in the picture on the
preceding page he appears seated on the trail of the gun to the left in the act of sighting the gun. The other officers shown in this
picture were no longer living when, in 1911, he described the actors in the drama that the glass plate had preserved forty-six years.

JUST AS THE CAMERA CAUGHT THEM

General Warren's Corps had arrived in front of Petersburg on the 17th of June, 1804, anil Battery B of the First Pennsylvania Light
Artillery was put into position near the A very house. Before them the Confederates were entrenehed, with Beauregard in eom-
mand. On the 17th, undercover of darkness, the Confederates fell back to their third line, just visible beyond the woods to the left in
the first picture. Early the next morning Battery B was advanced to the line of entrenchments shown above, and a sharp interchange
of artillery fire took place in the afternoon. So busy were both sides throwing up entrenchments and building forts and lunettes that
there had been very little interchange of compliments in the way of shells or bullets at this point until Photographer Brady's presence
and the gathering of men of Battery B at their posts called forth the well-pointed salute. Men soon became accustomed to artillery

THE MAX WHO REMEMBERED

and shell-fire. It was not long before Battery D was advanced from the position shown above to that held by the Confederates on
of June, and there Fort Morton was ereeted, and beyond the line of woods the historic Fort Stedman, the seene of some of
t fighting before Petersburg. If you look closely at the second photograph, you will perceive a man in civilian clothes-
Gardner (standing just back of the man with the haversack) thinks that this is Mr. Brady himself. There are fifteen

people m this picture whom Lieutenant Gardner, of this battery, recognized after a lapse of forty-six years and can recall by name
* more gallant Pennsylvanians who, on studying this photograph, will see themselves and their comrades, surviving and

dead, as once they fought on the firing-line.

"WHERE IS GRANT?"

This heavy Federal battery looks straight across the low-lying country to Petersburg. Its spires show in the distance. The smiling
country is now to be a field of blood and suffering. For Grant's army, unperceived, has swung around from ("old Harbor, and "the
Confederate cause was lost when Grant crossed the James," declared the Southern General Ewell. It was a mighty and a masterful
move, practicable only because of the tremendous advantages the Federals held in the undisputed possession of the waterways, the
tremendous fleet of steamers, barges, and river craft that made a change of base and transportation easy. Petersburg became the
objective of the great army under Grant. His movements to get there had not been heralded; they worked like well-oiled machinery.
" Where is Grant?" frantically asked Beauregard of Lee. The latter, by his despatches, shows that he could not answer with any
certainty. In fact, up to the evening of the 13th of June, when the Second Corps, the advance of the Army of the Potomac, reached

IIKAVY AUTILLKKY JTST ARRIVKD BKFORK PKTKRSBl KG— 18G4

the north bank of the James, Lee could not learn the truth. By midnight of the 15th, bridges were constructed, and following the
Second Corps, the Ninth began to cross. But already the Fifth and Sixth Corps and part of the Army of the James were on their
way by water from White House to City Point. The Petersburg campaign had begun. Lee's army drew its life from the great fields
and stock regions south and southwest of Richmond. With the siege of Petersburg, the railroad center of the state, this source of
supply was more and more cut off, until six men were made to live on the allowance first given to each separate Southern soldier.
Outnumbered three to one in efficient men, with the cold of winter coming on and its attendant hardships in prospect, no
wonder the indomitable Southern bravery was tried to the utmost. Sherman was advancing. The beginning of the end was
near.

THE BUSIEST PLACE IN DIXIE

City Point, just after its capture by Butler. From June, 1804, until April, 1865, City Point, at the
juncture of the Appomattox and the James, was a point of entry and departure for more vessels than
any city of the South including even New Orleans in times of peace. Here landed supplies that kept
an army numbering, with fighting force and supernumeraries, nearly one hundred and twenty thousand
well-supplied, well-fed, well-contented, and well-munitioned men in the field. This was the marvelous base
— safe from attack, secure from molestation. It was meals and money that won at Petersburg, the bravery
of full stomachs and warm-clothed bodies against the desperation of starved and shivering out-numbered
men. A glance at this picture tells the story. There is no need of rehearsing charges, counter-charges,
mines, and counter-mines. Here lies the reason — Petersburg had to fall. As we look back with a retro
spective eye on this scene of plenty and abundance, well may the American heart be proud that only a few
miles away were men of their own blood enduring the hardships that the defenders of Petersburg suffered in
the last campaign of starvation against numbers and plenty.

THE TEEMING WHARVES

No signs of warfare, no marching men or bodies lying on
the blood-soaked sward, are needed to mark this as a
war-time photograph. No laboring boss would have
fallen into the position of the man on the top of the em
bankment. Four years in uniform has marked this fel
low; he has caught the eye of the camera and drawn up
at "Attention," shoulders back, heels together, and arms
hanging at his side. There is no effect of posing, no affec
tation here; he stands as he has been taught to stand.
He is a soldier. No frowning cannon could suggest the
military note more clearly. Just beyond the point to
the left, above the anchorage and the busy wharves, are
General Grant's headquarters at City Point. From here
it was but a few minutes' ride on the rough military rail-

SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY— BELOW, AN ENGINE OF THE U. S. MILITARY RAILROAD

way to where the one hundred and ten thousand fighting
men lay entrenched with the sixty-six thousand veterans
in gray opposed to them. A warship lying where these
vessels lie could drop a 12-inch shell into Petersburg in
modern days. From here President Lincoln set out to
see a grand review and witnessed a desperate battle.
Here General Sherman, fresh from his victorious march
from Atlanta to the sea, came up in the little gunboat
Bat to visit Grant. During the last days, when to the
waiting world peace dawned in sight, City Point, to
all intents and purposes, was the National Capital, for
from here President Lincoln held communication with his
Cabinet officers, and replied to Stanton's careful injunc
tions " to take care of himself" with the smiling assurance
that he was in the hands of Grant and the army.

The 17,000-poimd mortar, "Dictator," was run on a flat-car from point to point on a curve of the railroad track along the bank of
the Appomaltox. It was manned and served before Petersburg, July 9-31, 1804, by Company G, First Connecticut Artillery, during
its stay. When its charge of fourteen pounds of powder was first fired, the car broke under the shock; but a second car was prepared

THE RAILROAD MORTAR

by the engineers, strengthened by additional beams, tied strongly by iron rods and covered with iron-plating. This enabled the
" Dictator " to be used at various points, and during the siege it fired in all forty-five rounds — nineteen of which wore fired during
the battle of the Crater. It was given at last a permanent emplacement near Battery No. 4- — shown on the following pages.

THE DICTATORS OF THE "DICTATOR"

Here are the men who did the tliinking for the great mortar that rests so stolidly in the midst of the group. They are its cabinet
ministers, artillerymen every one, versed in the art of range-finding and danger-angles, of projectory arcs and the timing of shell-fuses.
In the front line the two figures from left to right are Colonel H. L. Abbott, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and General H. J.
Hunt, Chief of Artillery. In the second, or rear line, also from left to right, the first is Captain F. A. Pratt; second (just behind
Colonel Abbott), Captain E. C. Dow; fourth (just behind and to General Hunt's left), Major T. S. Trumbull.

A PERMANENT POSITION

THE RAILROAD GUN'S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

These nine men are the executive committee that controlled the actions of the great mortar, and a glance at them shows
that they were picked men for the job — men in the prime of life, brawny and strong — they were the slaves of their pet monster.
Some shots from this gun went much farther than they were ever intended, carrying their fiery trails over the Confederate entrench
ments and exploding within the limits of the town itself, over two and a quarter miles. The roar of the explosion carried consterna
tion to all within hearing. In the lower picture is the great mortar resting in the position it occupied longest, near Battery No. 4.

POINTED TOWARD PETERSBURG

The cause was lost, but the end was not yet. The noble Army of
Northern Virginia, once, twice conqueror of empire, must bite the dust
before its formidable adversary. — Lieutenant-General James Longxtreet*
C.S.A.) in "From Manassas to

THE disastrous failure of the Union army on the san
guinary battlefield of Cold Harbor, in June, 1864, de
stroyed Grant's last chance to turn the Confederate right
flank north of Richmond. He could still try to turn Lee's
left and invest Richmond from the north, but this would not
have interfered with the lines of supply over the James River
and the railroads from the South and West. The city could
have resisted for an indefinite time. If Richmond were to fall,
it must be besieged from the south.

The movement from Cold Harbor began after dark on
June 12th, and Meade's whole army was safely over the James
River at Wilcox's Landing by midnight on the 16th of June.
The little city of Petersburg is situated twenty-one miles
south of Richmond on the southern bank of the Appomattox, a
small stream threading its way through the Virginia tidewater
belt, almost parallel with the James, into which it flows. In
itself the town was of little value to either army. But it was the
doorway to Richmond from the south. Three railroads from
Southern points converged here. To reach the Confederate
capital, Petersburg must first be battered down. At this time
the town ought not to have been difficult to capture, for its
defenses were but weak entrenchments, and they were not
formidably manned. General Smith, who reached Bermuda
Hundred by water, with his corps, on the night of the 14th,
was ordered by Butler, under instructions from Grant, to move
on Petersburg at daylight.

[188]

/ .

THE DIGGERS AT PETERSBURG— 1864

There was not a day during the whole of the nine months' siege of Petersburg that pick and shovel were
idle. At first every man had to turn to and become for the nonce a laborer in the ditches. But in an
army of one hundred and ten thousand men, in the maintenance of camp discipline, there were always
soldier delinquents who for some infringement of military rules or some neglected duty were sentenced to
extra work under the watchful eye of an officer and an armed sentry. Generally, these small punishments
meant six to eight hours' digging, and here we see a group of Federal soldiers thus employed. They are
well within the outer chain of forts, near where the military road joins the Weldon & Petersburg Railroad.
The presence of the camera man has given them a moment's relaxation.

y~\

The Confederate forces at Petersburg were now com
manded by General Beauregard. He had conjectured what
Grant's plans might be, and in order to prevent the capture
of the town and enable him to hold Butler at Bermuda Hun
dred, he called on Lee for immediate reenforcement. But the
latter, not yet convinced that Grant was not moving on Rich
mond, sent only Hoke's division. On the day after Meade
began to move his army toward the James, Lee left the en
trenchments at Cold Harbor. Keeping to the right and rear
of the LTnion lines of march, by the morning of the 16th, he had
thrown a part of his force to the south side of the James,
and, by the evening of the 18th, the last of the regiments had
united with those of Beauregard, and the two great opposing
armies were once more confronting each other — this time for
a final settlement of the issue at arms. The Union army out
numbered that of the Confederates, approximately, two to one.

The contest for Petersburg had already begun. For two
days the rapidly gathering armies had been combating with
each other. On June 15th, General Smith pushed his way
toward the weakly entrenched lines of the city. General Beau-
regard moved his men to an advanced line of rifle-pits. Here
the initial skirmish occurred. The Confederates were driven
to the entrenched works of Petersburg, and not until evening
was a determined attack made upon them. At this time Han
cock, " The Superb," came on the field. Night wras falling but
a bright moon was shining, and the Confederate redoubts,
manned by a little over two thousand men, might have been
carried by the Federals. But Hancock, waiving rank, yielded
to Smith in command. No further attacks were made and a
golden opportunity for the Federals was lost.

By the next morning the Confederate trenches were be
ginning to fill with Hoke's troops. The Federal attack was
not made until afternoon, when the fighting was severe for
three hours, and some brigades of the Ninth Corps assisted the
Second and Eighteenth. The Confederates were driven back

[1901

L_x,

MAHOXE, "THE HERO OF THE CRATER"

General William Mahone, C. S. A. It was through the promptness and valor of General Mahonc that the Southerners, on July 30,
1864, were enabled to turn back upon the Federals the disaster threatened by the hidden mine. On the morning of the explosion
there were but eighteen thousand Confederates left to hold the ten miles of lines about Petersburg. Everything seemed to favor
Grant's plans for the crushing of this force. Immediately after the mine was sprung, a terrific cannonade was opened from one hun
dred and fifty guns and mortars to drive back the Confederates from the breach, while fifty thousand Federals stood ready to charge
upon the panic-stricken foe. But the foe was not panic-stricken long. Colonel McMaster, of the Seventeenth South Carolina,
gathered the remnants of General Elliott's brigade and held back the Federals massing at the Crater until General Mahone arrived
at the head of three brigades. At once he prepared to attack the Federals, who at that moment were advancing to the left of the
Crater. Mahone ordered a counter-charge. In his inspiring presence it swept with such vigor that the Federals were driven back
and dared not risk another assault. At the Crater, Lee had what Grant lacked — a man able to direct the entire engagement.

some distance and made several unsuccessful attempts during
the night to recover their lost ground. Before the next noon,
June 17th, the hattle was begun once more. Soon there were
charges and countercharges along the whole battle-front.
Neither side yielded. The gray and blue lines surged back and
forth through all the afternoon. The dusk of the evening was
coming on and there was no prospect of a cessation of the con
flict. The Union troops were pressing strongly against the
Confederates. There was a terrible onslaught, which neither
powder nor lead could resist. A courier, dashing across the
field, announced to Beauregard the rout of his army. Soon
the panic-stricken Confederate soldiers were swarming in re
treat. The day seemed to be irreparably lost. Then, suddenly
in the dim twilight, a dark column was seen emerging from
the wooded ravines to the rear, and General Gracie, with his
brigade of twelve hundred gallant Alabamians, plunged
through the smoke, leapt into the works, and drove out the
Federals. Now the battle broke out afresh, and with unabated
fury continued until after midnight.

Early on the morning of the 18th, a general assault was
ordered upon the whole Confederate front. The skirmishers
moved forward but found the works, where, on the preceding
day, such desperate fighting had occurred, deserted. During
the night, Beauregard had successfully made a retrograde
movement. He had found the old line too long for the number
of his men and had selected a shorter one, from five hundred to
one thousand yards to the rear, that was to remain the Con
federate wall of the city during the siege. But there were no
entrenchments here and the weary battle-worn soldiers at
once set to work to dig them, for the probable renewal of the
contest. In the darkness and through the early morning hours,
the men did with whatever they could find as tools — some with
their bayonets, or split canteens, while others used their hands.
This was the beginning of those massive works that defied the
army of Grant before Petersburg for nearly a year. By noon

[ 19* 1

WHAT EIGHT THOUSAND POUNDS OF POWDER DID

The Crater, torn by the mine within Elliott's Salient. At dawn of July .SO, 1864, the fifty thousand Fed
eral troops waiting to make a charge saw a great mass of earth hurled skyward like a water-spout. As it
spread out into an immense cloud, scattering guns, carriages, timbers, and what were once human beings,
the front ranks broke in panic; it looked as if the mass were descending upon their own heads. The men
were quickly rallied; across the narrow plain they charged, through the awful breach, and up the heights
beyond to gain Cemetery Ridge. But there were brave fighters on the other side still left, and delay among
the Federals enabled the Confederates to rally and re-form in time to drive the Federals back down the
steep sides of the Crater. There, as they struggled amidst the horrible debris, one disaster after another
fell upon them. Huddled together, the mass of men was cut to pieces by the canister poured upon them
from well-planted Confederate batteries. At last, as a forlorn hope, the colored troops were sent forward;
and they, too, were hurled back into the Crater and piled upon their white comrades.

of that day they had assumed quite a defensive character.
Again the Federals attempted to break the Confederate line.
All during the afternoon, regiments were hurled against the
newly made works. Artillery bombarded here and there with
but little effect. At times the attacking force would come
within thirty yards of the entrenchments, only to recoil. Xight
came, and in front of the trenches the ranks of the Union dead
lay thickly strewn.

During these four days, divisions and batteries were being
added to both armies, and when the Union assault was success
fully repulsed in the twilight hours of June 18, 1864, those two
grim adversaries, Grant and Lee, stood in full battle array—
this time for the final combat. The siege of Petersburg began
the next day.

It was a beautiful June Sabbath. There was only the
occasional boom of some great gun as it thundered along the
Appomattox, or the fretful fire of picket musketry, to break
the stillness. But it was not a day of rest. With might and
main the two armies busily plied with pick and spade and axe.

In an incredibly short time, as if by magic, impregnable
bastioned works began to loom about Petersburg. More than
thirty miles of frowning redoubts, connected with extended
breastworks, strengthened by mortar batteries and field-works
of every description, lined the fields near the Appomattox. In
front were abatis — bushy entanglements and timber slashings.
Bomb-proofs and parapets completed these cordons of offense
and defense — the one constructed to keep the Federals out;
the other to keep the Confederates in. So formidable were
the works, that only twice during the siege was there any seri
ous attempt made by either army upon the entrenchments of
the other, and both assaults were failures.

It was Grant's purpose to extend his lines to the south and
west, until they would finally envelop Lee's right flank, and then
strike at the railroads, upon which the Confederate army and
Richmond depended for supplies. On June 21st, two corps,

194

COLORED TROOPS AFTER THE DISASTER OF THE MINE

On July 30, 18(>4, at the exploding of the hidden mine under
Elliott's salient, the strong Confederate fortification opposite,
he plan of the mine was conceived by Colonel Henry Pleasants
nd approved by Burnside, whose
Vinth Corps, in the assaults of
une 17th and 18th, had pushed
heir advance position to within 130
ards of the Confederate works. Pleas-
nts had been a mining engineer
nd his regiment, the Forty-eighth
'ennsylvania, was composed mainly
f miners from the coal regions. The
vork was begun on June 25th and
rosecuted under the greatest diffi-
ulties. In less than a month Pleas-
.nts had the main gallery, 510.8 feet
ong, the left lateral gallery, 37 feet
ong, and the right lateral gallery,
'•8 feet long, all completed. While

[c]

FORT MORTON, BEFORE PETERSBURG

finishing the last gallery, the right one, the men could hear the
Confederates working in the fortification above them, trying
to locate the mine, of which they had got wind. It was
General Burnside's plan that General
Edward Ferrero's division of colored
troops should head the charge when
the mine should be sprung. The black
men were kept constantly on drill and
it was thought, as they had not seen
any very active service, that they were
in better condition to lead the attack
than any of the white troops. In the
upper picture are some of the colored
troops drilling and idling in camp after
the battle of the Crater, in which
about three hundred of their comrades
were lost. The lower picture shows
the entrenchments at Fort Morton,
whence thev sallied forth.

hr Imtrstiiirut nf

<ir*~

*•

- I

ne of ir.vest-
erlstk* of the

capture tne \\ el<
ment. The regk
tidewater belt — dense forests and swampy lowlands, cut by
many small creeks. The morning of June ±2d foimd the two
army corps in the midst of tangled wilderness. There was
some delay in bringing these divisions together — thus leaving
a wide gap. While the troops were waiting here, two divisions
of A. P. Hill's corps were advancing against them. Hill led
Mahone's division through a ravine close by. Screened by the
intervening ridge, the Confederates quickly formed in line of
battle, dashed through the pine forest, with a fierce, wild yefl,
and swiftly and suddenly burst through the gap between the
two Federal corps, attacking the flank and rear of Barlow's
division. A withering volley of musketry, before which the
Northerners could not stand, plowed through their ranks. The
Federal line was doubled upon itself. The terrific onslaught
was continued by the Confederates and resulted in forging to
the entrenchments and capturing seventeen hundred prisoners,
four guns, and several colors. At dusk Hill returned to his
entrenchments. The Second and Sixth corps were joined in
a new position.

At the same time the cavalry, under General James H.
Wilson, including Kautz's division, started out to destroy the
railroads. The Confederate cavalry leader. General \V. H.
F. Lee, followed closely, and there were several sharp en
gagements. The Union cavalry leader succeeded, however,
in destroying a considerable length of track on both the Wei-
don and South Side railroads between June ±*d and 27th.
Then be turned for the works at Petersburg, but found it a
difficult task. The woods were alive with Confederates. In
fantry swarmed on every hand. Cavalry hung on the Fed
erals" flanks and rear at every step. Artillery and wagon
trains were being captured constantly. During the entire
night of June 28th, the Union troopers were constantly

•

AX OASIS IX THE DESERT OF WAR

Throughout all the severe fighting south of Petersburg the Aiken house and its inhabitants remained un-
larmed, their safety respected by the combatants on both sides. The little farmhouse near the Weldon
Railroad between the lines of the two hostile armies was remembered for years by many veterans on both
sides. When Grant, after the battle of the Crater, began to force his lines closer to the west of Petersburg
:he Weldon Railroad became an objective and General Warren's command pushed forward on August 18,
1864, and after a sharp fight with the Confederates, established themselves in an advance position near
Ream's Station. Three gallant assaults by the Confederates on the three succeeding days failed to dis
lodge the Federals. In these engagements the tide of battle ebbed and flowed through the woods and
through thickets of vine and underbrush more impenetrable even than the "Wilderness."

harassed on every hand. They fell back in every direction.
The two divisions became separated and, driven at full speed in
front of the Confederate squadrons, became irreparably broken,
and when they finally reached the Union lines — the last of them
on July 2d — it was in straggling parties in wretched plight.

On June 25th, Sheridan returned from his raid on the
Virginia Central Railroad. He had encountered Hampton
and Fitzhugh Lee at Trevilian Station on June llth, and
turned back after doing great damage to the Railroad. His
supply of ammunition did not warrant another engagement.

Now ensued about five weeks of quiet during which time
both generals were strengthening their fortifications. How
ever, the Federals were covertly engaged in an undertaking
that was destined to result in a conspicuous failure. While
the Northern soldiers were enduring the rays of a blistering
July sun behind the entrenchments, one regiment was delving
underneath in the cool, moist earth. It was the Forty-eighth
Pennsylvania regiment of the Ninth Corps, made up mostly
of miners from the upper Schuylkill coal-district of Pennsyl
vania. From June 25th until July 23d, these men were boring
a tunnel from the rear of the Union works to a point under
neath the Confederate fortifications. Working under the
greatest difficulties, with inadequate tools for digging, and
hand-barrows made out of cracker boxes, in which to carry
away the earth, there was excavated in this time a passage-way
five hundred and ten feet in length, terminating in left and
right lateral galleries, thirty-seven and thirty-eight feet re
spectively. Into these lateral galleries eight thousand pounds
of gunpowder were packed and tamped, and a fuse attached.
On July 28th, everything was ready for the match to be ap
plied and for the gigantic upheaval, sure to follow.

Grant, in order to get a part of Lee's army away, had
sent Hancock's corps and two divisions of cavalry north of
the James, as if he might attack Richmond. The ruse was
successful. Preparations were then completed to fire the mine,

[198]

THE SAFE EXD OF THE MOVING BATTERY

The Federals were not the first to use a gun mounted on rail
way trucks. In the defense of Richmond during the Seven
Days' and at the attack on
Savage's Station the Confeder
ates had mounted a field-piece
on a flat-car and it did severe
damage to the Federal camps.
But they possessed no such
formidable armored truck as
this. Propelled by man-power,
no puffing locomotive betrayed
its whereabouts; and as it
rolled along the tracks, firing a
shot from time to time, it must
have puzzled the Confederate
outposts. This was no clumsy
experimental toy, but a land
gunboat on wheels, armored
with iron-plating, backed by
massive beams.

At the Globe Tavern General
barren made his headquarters
after the successful advance of

THE GLOBE TAVERN, WELDON RAILROAD

August 18th, and from here he directed the maneuvers by
which the Federal lines to the westward of Petersburg were

drawn closer and closer to cut
off the last of Confederate
communications. The country
hereabout was the theater of
constant activities on both sides
during the autumn, and skir
mishing between the hostile
forces was kept up far into
November. The old tavern was
the very center of war's
alarms. Yet the junior officers
of the staff were not wholly
deprived of amenities, since the
Aikcn house near by domiciled
no less than seven young ladies,
a fact that guaranteed full pro
tection to the family during the
siege. A strong safeguard was
encamped within the garden
railing to protect the house from
intrusion by stragglers.

tear a gap in the Confederate works, and rush the Union troops
into the opening. A division of colored soldiers, under General
Ferrero, was selected and thoroughly drilled to lead the charge.
Everything was in readiness for a successful attack, but at the
last moment the colored division was replaced by the First
Division of the Xinth Corps, under General Ledlie. The
explosion was to take place at half -past three on the morning
of July 30th. The appointed time had come. Everything
required was in its place, ready to perform its part. Less than
four hundred feet in front were the Confederate works, and
directly beneath them were four tons of powder waiting to per
form their deadly work.

Then the Federals applied the match. The fuse sputtered
as the consuming flame ate its way to the magazines within the
tunnel. The men waited in breathless suspense. In another
moment the earth would be rent by the subterranean upheaval.
Minute after minute passed. The delay was unbearable.
Something must have gone wrong. A gallant sergeant of the
Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, Henry Rees by name, volunteered
to enter the gallery and find out why the fuse had failed. It
had parted within fifty feet of the powder. Rees returned for
materials to resplice the fuse, and on the way out met Lieuten
ant Jacob Douty. The two men made the necessary repairs;
the fire was again applied, and then — at twenty minutes to five
—the ground underneath trembled as if by an earthquake, a
solid mass of earth shot two hundred feet into the air, and a
flame of fire burst from the vent as from a new-born volcano.
Smoke rose after the ascending column. There in mid-air,
earth, cannon, timbers, sand-bags, human beings, smoke, and
fire, hung suspended an instant, and bursting asunder, fell
back into and around the smoking crater where three hundred
Confederates had met their end.

When the cloud of smoke had cleared away, the waiting
troops of Ledlie charged, Colonel Marshall at the head of the
Second Brigade, leading the way. They came to an immense

[200]

FEDERAL FIGHTERS AT REAMS' STATION

These men of Barlow's First division of the Second Corps, under command of Brigadier-General Nelson A. Miles, gallantly repulsed
the second and third attacks by the Confederates upon Reams' Station, where Hancock's men were engaged in destroying the Weldon
Railroad on August 24, 1864. In the upper picture is seen Company D of the famous "Clinton Guard," as the Sixty-first New York
Infantry called itself. The picture was taken at Falmouth in April, 1863, and the trim appearance of the troops on dress parade in
dicates nothing of the heavy losses they sustained when at Fredericksburg, led by Colonel Miles, they fought with distinguished brav
ery against Jackson's men. Not only the regiment but its officers attained renown, for the regiment had the honor to be commanded
by able soldiers. First, Francis C. Barlow was its colonel, then Nelson A. Miles, then Oscar A. Broady, and lastly George W. Scott.

•$>«$•

<$*

opening, one hundred and seventy feet long, sixty feet wide,
and thirty feet deep. They climbed the rim, looked down into
the pit at the indescribable horrors, and then plunged into the
crater. Here, they huddled in inextricable confusion. The
two brigades poured in until the yawning pit was crowded with
the disorganized mass. All semblance of organization van
ished. In the confusion, officers lost power to recognize, much
less to control, their own troops. A regiment climbed the slope,
but finding that no one was following, went back to the crater.

The stunned and paralyzed Confederates were not long
in grasping the situation. Batteries were soon planted where
they could sweep the approach to the crater. This cut off
the possibility of retreat. Then into the pit itself poured a
stream of wasting fire, until it had become a veritable slaugh
ter-house. Into this death-trap, the sun was sending down
its shafts until it became as a furnace. Attempts were made
to pass around the crater and occupy Cemetery Hill, which
had been the objective of the Federals. But the withering-
fire prevented. The colored troops, who had been originally
trained to lead in the charge, now tried to save the day. They
passed by the side of the crater and started for the crest of the
hill. They had not gone far when the Confederates delivered
a countercharge that broke their ranks.

The Confederates were being rapidly reenforced. At
eight o'clock Mahone's division of Georgians and Virginians
swept onto the field, to the scene of the conflict. They had
been hidden from view until they were almost ready for the
charge. The Federals, seeing the intended attack, made ready
to resist it. Lieutenant-Colonel Bross of the Twenty-ninth
Colored regiment sprang upon the edge of the crater with the
Union flag in his hand and was quickly struck down. The
men began to scramble out after him, but before a line could
be formed the Confederates were on them, and the Federals
were driven back into the pit, already overflowing with the
living and the dead. Huge missiles from Confederate mortars

[ 202 ]

FORT MAHONE— "FORT DAMNATION"

RIVES' SALIENT

TRAVERSES AGAINST CROSS-FIRE

GRACIE'S SALIENT, AND OTHER FORTS ALONG THE TEN MILES OF DEFENSES

Doited with formidable fortifications such as these, Confederate works stretched for ten miles around Petersburg. Fort Mahone was
situated opposite the Federal Fort Sedgwick at the point where the hostile lines converged most closely after the battle of the Crater.
Owing to the constant cannonade which it kept up, the Federals named it Fort Damnation, while Fort Sedgwick, which was no less
active in reply, was known to the Confederates as Fort Hell. Gracie's salient, further north on the Confederate line, is notable as the
point in front of which General John B. Gordon's gallant troops moved to the attack on Fort Stedman, the last desperate effort of
the Confederates to break through the Federal cordon. The views of Gracie's salient show the French form of chevaux-de-frise, a,
favorite protection against attack much employed by the Confederates.

rained into the awful chasm. The muskets left by the retreat
ing Federals were thrown like pitchforks among the huddled
troops. The shouts, the explosions, the screams, and groans
added to the horror of the carnage. The clay in the pit was
drenched with the blood of the dead and dying. The Southern
ers pushed in from both sides of the crater, forming a cordon
of bayonets about it. The third and final charge was made,
about two in the afternoon, and the bloody fight at the crater
was ended as the brigade commanders followed Burnside's
order to withdraw to the Federal lines. Both of Ledlie's brig
ade commanders were captured in the crater. The total Fed
eral loss in this disastrous affair was over thirty-nine hundred,
of whom all but one hundred were in the Ninth Corps. The
Confederates lost about one thousand.

Now came a season of comparative quiet about Peters
burg, except for the strategic maneuverings of the Federals
who were trying to find weak places in the. Confederate walls.
On August 18th, however, Grant sent General Warren to cap
ture the Weldon Railroad. Desperate fighting was to be ex
pected, for this was one of the important routes along which
supplies came to the Confederate capital. The Federal forces
moved out quietly from their camp, but the alert Beauregard
was ready for them. By the time Warren had reached the
railroad, near the Globe Tavern, four miles from Petersburg,
he was met by a force under Heth which at once drove him
back. Rallying his troops, Warren entrenched on the railroad.

The fight wras renewed on the next day, when, strongly
reenforced by Lee, the Confederates burst suddenly upon the
Federals. Mahone thrust his gallant division through the Fed
eral skirmish line and then turned and fought from the rear,
while another division struck the right wing. The Union force
was soon in confusion; more than two thousand were taken
prisoners, including General Joseph Hayes, and but for the
arrival of the Ninth Corps, the field would have been lost.
Two days later, Lee again attacked the position by massing

[204]

///

THE DEFENDERS' COUNTER-MINE

The sinister burrow opens within the Confederate Fort Mahone, seen more fully at the top of the preceding page. Fort Sodgwick,
directly opposite Fort Mahone, had been originally captured from the Confederates and its defenses greatly strengthened. So galling
did its fire become, and so important was its position to the Confederates, that early in the siege they planned to lay a mine in order
to regain it and perhaps break through the Federal lines and raise the siege. The distance across the intervening plain was but fifteen
hundred feet. The Confederates ran their main gallery somewhat more than a third of this distance before finally abandoning it, the
difficulties of the undertaking having proved too great. This fort was named after General William Mahone, who was conspicuously
engaged in the defense of Petersburg, and whose gallant conduct at the explosion of the Federal mine under Elliott's salient saved
the day to the Confederates. Weak as were the defenses of Petersburg in comparison with the strong investing works of the Federals,
they withstood all assaults during nine months except when Elliott's salient was captured during the battle of the Crater.

WHERE GORDON'S MEN ATTACKED, FORT STEDMAN

At Fort Stedman was di
rected the gallant on
slaught of Gordon's men
that resulted so disastrous
ly for the Confederates on
the 25th of March. For
no troops could stand the
heavy artillery and mus
ketry fire directed on them
from both flanks and from
the rear at daylight. What
was left of this brave divi
sion, shattered and broken,
drifted back to their own
line. It was the forlorn
hope of Lee's beleaguered
army. Fort McGilvery was
less than one-half a mile
from the Appomattox River,
just north of the City

THE POWDER MAGAZINE AT FORT MrGILVERY

Point Railroad, at the ex
treme right of the Federal
line. It was one of the
earliest forts completed,
being built in July, 1864.
Fort Morton, named after
Major St. Clair Morton,
killed by a sharpshooter's,
bullet in July, 1864, was
renowned as the place from
which the mine was dug and
from which the disastrous
attempt to break through
the Confederate lines was
made on July .'50th. Fort.
Morton lay almost in the
center of the most active
portion of the lines, and was
about a mile south of Fort
Stedman.

FORT MORTON, OPPOSITE THE CRATER

A POSITION OF COMPLETE DEFENSE, FORT MEIKLE

Almost every one of tlic
forts in the long Federal
line was named after some
gallant officer who had lost
his life in action. They
might have been termed the
memorial forts. The al
most circular entrenchment,
strengthened by logs and
sandbags and defended by
the formidable abatis of
tree trunks, was named after
Lieutenant-( 'olonel George
W. Meiklc, of the Twentieth
Indiana Volunteers. From
the position shown we are
looking directly into Peters
burg. Military observers
have conceded that the
fortifications surrounding

THE SWEEPING LLNES OF FORT SEDGWICK

Petersburg were the most
remarkable of any in the
world. Before the end of
October, 1864, the Army of
the Potomac occupied a
formidable cordon of de
fenses that stretched for
more than thirty-two miles,
and comprised thirty-six
forts and fifty batteries.
For years succeeding the
war excursions were run
from New York and from
all parts of the country to
this historic ground. It
took three days to com
plete the tour. Then most
of the forts were in the con
dition in which we see them
pictured here.

FORT RICE, AS THE CONFEDERATES SAW IT

thirty guns and pouring volley after volley of fierce fire into
the ranks of blue. The Union lines stood firm and returned
the fire. Finally, the fighting Mahone, with his matchless band,
was brought to turn the tide. The attack was made with his
usual Lmpetuousness, but the blue-clad riflemen withstood the
terrific charge, and the serried ranks of Mahone fell back.
The Weldon Railroad was lost to the Confederacy.

Hancock, who had returned from the north side of the
James, proceeded to destroy the road, without hindrance, until
three days later, August 25th, when General A. P. Hill made
his appearance and Hancock retreated to some hastily built
breastworks at Ream's Station. The Confederate attack was
swift and terrific. The batteries broke the Union lines. The
men were panic-stricken and were put to flight. Hancock tried
in vain to rally his troops, but for once this splendid soldier,
who had often seen his men fall but not fail, was filled with
agony at the rout of his soldiers. Their rifle-pits had been lost,
their guns captured and turned upon them. Finally, General
Xelson A. Miles succeeded in rallying a few men, formed a new
line and, with the help of some dismounted cavalry, partly
regained their former position. The night came on and, under
cover of darkness, Hancock withdrew his shattered columns.

The two great opposing armies had now come to a dead
lock. For weeks they lay in their entrenchments, eacli waiting
for the other to move. Each knew that it was an almost hope
less task to assail the other's position. At the end of Septem
ber, General Ord, with the Eighteenth Corps, and General Bir-
ney, with the Tenth, captured Fort Harrison north of the
James, securing a vantage-point for threatening Richmond.
The Union line had been extended to within three miles of the
South Side Railroad, and on October 27th, practically the
whole Army of the Potomac was put in motion to secure this
other avenue of transportation to Richmond. After severe
fighting for one day the attempt was given up, and the Union
troops returned to the entrenchments in front of Petersburg.

[208]

1'ART III
CLOSING IN

SHERMAN'S FINAL CAMPAIGNS

WAITING FOR THE MARCH TO THE SEA

After the capture of Atlanta, says Sherman, "all the army, officers and men, seemed to relax more or less and sink into a condition
of idleness." All but the engineers! For it was their task to construct the new lines of fortifications surveyed by General Poe so
that the city could be held by a small force while troops were detached in pursuit of Hood. The railroad lines and bridges along the
route by which the army had come had to be repaired so that the sick and wounded and prisoners could be sent back to Chattanooga
and the army left free of encumbrances before undertaking the march to the sea. In the picture, their work practically done, the men
of the First Michigan Engineers are idling about the old salient of the Confederate lines southeast of Atlanta near which their camp

CAMP OF THE FIRST MICHIGAN ENGINEERS AT ATLANTA, AUTUMN, 18<54

was pitched. The organization was the best known and one of the most efficient of the Michigan regiments. It was composed almost
entirely of mechanics and trained engineers and mustered eighteen hundred strong. The work of these men dotted the whole theater
of war in the West. The bridges and trestles of their making, if combined, would have to be measured by the mile, and many of them
were among the most wonderful feats of military engineering. The First Michigan Engineers could fight, too, for a detachment of
them under Colonel Innes at Stone's River successfully defended the army trains from an attack by Wheeler's cavalry. The march
to the sea could not have been made without these men.
[c]

others, white-bonnetted women in the group, cluster around
their chairs and other belongings not yet shipped. The last
train of refugees was ready to leave Atlanta. Sherman out
lined very clearly his reasons for ordering the evacuation of the
city by its inhabitants. He wrote on September 17, 18G4: "I
take the ground that Atlanta is a conquered place, and I pro
pose to use it purely for our own military purposes, which are
inconsistent with its habitation by the families of a brave
people. I am shipping them all, and by next Wednesday the
town will be a real military town, with no women boring me
every order I give."

THE LAST TRAIN WAITING

This series of three photographs, taken a few minutes apart,
tells the story of Sherman's order evicting the inhabitants
of Atlanta, September, 1864. A train of cars stands empty
beside the railroad station. But in the second picture piles of
household effects appear on some of the cars. This disordered
embarkation takes little time; the wagon train advancing in the
first picture has not yet passed the camera. By the time the
shutter clicked for the bottom photograph, every car was heaped
with household effects — bedding and pitiful packages of a dozen
kinds. Unfortunate owners dangle their feet from the cars;

CHATTELS APPEAR OX TOP OF THE CARS

THE CARS PILED HIGH WITH HOUSEHOLD GOODS— THE LAST TRAIN OF INHABITANTS READY

TO LEAVE ATLANTA

THE END OF THE RAILROAD DEPOT

The crumpled wreck is hardly recognizable as the same spacious train-shed that sheltered such human activities as those pictured op
posite, yet this is the Atlanta depot. But such destruction was far from the wanton outrage that it naturally seemed to those whose
careers it rudely upset. As early as September, Sherman, with Atlanta on his hands, had deemed it essential for the prosecutions of
his movements and the end of the war that the city should be turned into a military post. So he determined "to remove the entire
civil population, and to deny to all civilians from the rear the expected profits of civil trade. This was to avoid the necessity of a
heavy garrison to hold the position, and prevent the crippling of the armies in the fields as heretofore by 'detachments' to guard and
protect the interests of a hostile population." The railroad station, as the heart of the modern artery of business, was second in im
portance only to the buildings and institutions of the Confederate government itself, as a subject for elimination.

SHERMAN'S FINAL CAMPAIGNS

I only regarded the inarch from Atlanta to Savannah as a " shift of
base,"" as the transfer of a strong army, which had no opponent, and had
finished its then work, from the interior to a point on the sea coast, from
which it could achieve other important results. I considered this inarch
as a means to an end, and not as an essential act of war. Still, then as
now, the march to the sea was generally regarded as something extraordi
nary, something anomalous, something out of the usual order of events;
whereas, in fact, I simply moved from Atlanta to Savannah, as one step in
the direction of Richmond, a movement that had to be met and defeated,
or the war was necessarily at an end — Gcncrnl W. T. Sherman, in hi*
" Memoirs."

THE march to the sea, in which General William T.
Sherman won undying fame in the Civil War, is one
of the greatest pageants in the world's warfare — as fearful
in its destruction as it is historic in its import. But this was
not Sherman's chief achievement; it was an easy task com
pared with the great campaign between Chattanooga and
Atlanta through which he had just passed. " As a military
accomplishment it was little more than a grand picnic," de
clared one of his division commanders, in speaking of the
march through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Almost immediately after the capture of Atlanta, Sher
man, deciding to remain there for some time and to make it
a Federal military center, ordered all the inhabitants to be
removed. General Hood pronounced the act one of ingen
ious cruelty, transcending any that had ever before come to
his notice in the dark history of the war. Sherman insisted
that his act was one of kindness, and that Johnston and Hood
themselves had done the same — removed families from their
homes — in other places. The decision was fully carried out.

[2141

THE ATLANTA BANK BEFORE THE MARCH TO THE SEA

As this photograph was taken, the wagons stood in the street of Atlanta ready to accompany the Federals
in their impending march to the sea. The most interesting thing is the bank building on the corner, com
pletely destroyed, although around it stand the stores of merchants entirely untouched. Evidently there
had been here faithful execution of Sherman's orders to his engineers — to destroy all buildings and property
of a public nature, such as factories, foundries, railroad stations, and the like; but to protect as far as pos
sible strictly private dwellings and enterprises. Those of a later generation who witnessed the growth of
Atlanta within less than half a century after this photograph was taken, and saw tall office-buildings and
streets humming with industry around the location in this photograph, will find in it an added fascination.

Many of the people of Atlanta chose to go southward, others
to the north, the latter being transported free, by Sherman's
order, as far as Chattanooga.

Shortly after the middle of September, Hood moved his
army from Lovejoy's Station, just south of Atlanta, to the
vicinity of Macon. Here Jefferson Davis visited the encamp
ment, and on the 22d he made a speech to the homesick Army
of Tennessee, which, reported in the Southern newspapers,
disclosed to Sherman the new plans of the Confederate lead
ers. These involved nothing less than a fresh invasion of Ten
nessee, which, in the opinion of President Davis, would put
Sherman in a predicament worse than that in which Napoleon
found himself at Moscow. But, forewarned, the Federal
leader prepared to thwart his antagonists. The line of the
Western and Atlantic Railroad was more closely guarded.
Divisions were sent to Rome and to Chattanooga. Thomas
was ordered to Nashville, and Schofield to Knoxville. Recruits
were hastened from the North to these points, in order that
Sherman himself might not be weakened by the return of too
many troops to these places.

Hood, in the hope of leading Sherman away from At
lanta, crossed the Chattahoochee on the 1st of October, de
stroyed the railroad above Marietta and sent General French
against Allatoona. It was the brave defense of this place by
General John M. Corse that brought forth Sherman's famous
message, "Hold out; relief is coming," sent by his signal
officers from the heights of Kenesaw Mountain, and which
thrilled the North and inspired its poets to eulogize Corse's
bravery in verse. Corse had been ordered from Rome to
Allatoona by signals from mountain to mountain, over the
heads of the Confederate troops, who occupied the valley
between. Reaching the mountain pass soon after midnight,
on October 5th, Corse added his thousand men to the nine hun
dred already there, and soon after daylight the battle began.
General French, in command of the Confederates, first

[216]

"TUNING UP"— A DAILY DRILL IN THE CAPTURED FORT

Here Sherman's men are seen at daily drill in Atlanta. This photograph has an interest beyond most war pictures, for it gives
a clear idea of the soldierly bearing of the men that were to march to the sea. There was an easy carelessness in their appearance
copied from their great commander, but they were never allowed to become slouchy. Sherman was the antithesis of a martinet, but
he had, in the Atlanta campaign, molded his army into the "mobile machine" that he desired it to be, and he was anxious to keep
the men up to this high pitch of efficiency for the performance of still greater deeds. No better disciplined army existed in the world
at the time Sherman's "bummers" set out for the sea.

hmttan'B Final (Hampatgtta •$•

summoned Corse to surrender, and, receiving a defiant answer,
opened with his guns. Xearly all the day the fire was terrific
from hesieged and besiegers, and the losses on both sides were
very heavy.

During the battle Sherman was on Kenesaw Mountain,
eighteen miles away, from which he could see the cloud of
smoke and hear the faint reverberation of the cannons' boom.
When he learned by signal that Corse was there and in com
mand, he said, " If Corse is there, he will hold out; I know
the man." And he did hold out, and saved the stores at Alla-
toona, at a loss of seven hundred of his men, he himself being
among the wounded, while French lost more than a thousand.

General Hood continued to move northward to Resaca
and Dalton, passing over the same ground on which the two
great armies had fought during the spring and summer. He
destroyed the railroads, burned the ties, and twisted the rails,
leaving greater havoc, if possible, in a country that was already
a wilderness of desolation. For some weeks Sherman fol
lowed Hood in the hope that a general engagement would
result. But Hood had no intention to fight. He went on to
the banks of the Tennessee opposite Florence, Alabama. His
army was lightly equipped, and Sherman, with his heavily
burdened troops, was unable to catch him. Sherman halted
at Gaylesville and ordered Schofield, with the Twenty-third
Corps, and Stanley, with the Fourth Corps, to Thomas at
Xashville.

Sherman thereupon determined to return to Atlanta,
leaving General Thomas to meet Hood's appearance in Ten
nessee. It was about this time that Sherman fully decided to
march to the sea. Some time before this he had telegraphed
to Grant: "Hood . . . can constantly break my roads. I
would infinitely prefer to make a wreck of the road . . . send
back all my wounded and worthless, and, with my effective
army, move through Georgia, smashing things to the sea."
Grant thought it best for Sherman to destroy Hood's army

[218]

Oct.

1 804

7M /

CUTTING LOOSE FROM THE BASE, NOVEMBER 12TH

"On the Hth of November the railroad and telegraph communications with the rear were broken and the army stood detached from
all friends, dependent on its own resources and supplies," writes Sherman. Meanwhile all detachments were marching rapidly to
Atlanta with orders to break up the railroad en route and "generally to so damage the country as to make it untenable to the enemy."
This was a necessary war measure. Sherman, in a home letter written from (irand Gulf, Mississippi, May (>, 18(i.'5, stated clearly
his views regarding the destruction of property. Speaking of the wanton havoc wrought on a fine plantation in the path of the army,
he added: "It is done, of course, by the accursed stragglers who won't fight but hang behind and disgrace our cause and country. Dr.
Howie had fled, leaving everything on the approach of our troops. Of course, devastation marked the whole path of the army, and
I know all the principal officers detest the infamous practice as much as I do. Of course, I expect and do take corn, bacon, ham, mules,
and everything to support an army, and don't object much to the using of fences for firewood, but this universal burning and wanton
destruction of private property is not justified in war."

fcftttUftt 'S "Sffmal

•*• •$•

first, but Sherman insisted that his plan would put him on
the offensive rather than the defensive. Pie also believed that
Hood would be forced to follow him. Grant was finally won
to the view that if Hood moved on Tennessee, Thomas would
be able to check him. He had, on the llth of October, given
permission for the march. Now, on the 2d of November, he
telegraphed Sherman at Rome: " I do not really see that you
can withdraw from where you are to follow Hood without
giving up all we have gained in territory. I say, then, go on
as you propose." It was Sherman, and not Grant or Lin
coln, that conceived the great march, and while the march
itself was not seriously opposed or difficult to carry out, the
conception and purpose were masterly. -*

Sherman moved his army by slow and easy stages back
to Atlanta. He sent the vast army stores that had collected
at Atlanta, which he could not take with him, as well as his
sick and wounded, to Chattanooga, destroyed the railroad
to that place, also the machine-shops at Rome and other
places, and on November 12th, after receiving a final despatch
from Thomas and answering simply, " Despatch received — all
right," the last telegraph line was severed, and Sherman had
deliberately cut himself off from all communication with the
Northern States. There is no incident like it in the annals of
war. A strange event it was, as Sherman observes in his
memoirs. ' Two hostile armies marching in opposite direc
tions, each in the full belief that it was achieving a final and
conclusive result in a great war."

For the next two days all was astir in Atlanta. The
great depot, round-house, and machine-shops were destroyed.
Walls were battered down; chimneys pulled over; machinery
smashed to pieces, and boilers punched full of holes. Heaps
of rubbish covered the spots where these fine buildings had
stood, and on the night of November 15th the vast debris was
set on fire. The torch was also applied to many places in the
business part of the city, in defiance of the strict orders of

[220]

Oct.
1 S(J4

THE BUSTLE OF DEPARTURE FROM ATLANTA

Sherman's men worked like beavers during their last few days
in Atlanta. There was no time to be lost; the army was gotten
under way with that precision which marked all Sherman's
movements. In the upper picture, finishing touches are being
put to the railroad, and in the lower is seen the short work
that was made of such public buildings as might be of the
slightest use in case the Confeder
ates should recapture the town.
As far back as Chattanooga, while
plans for the Atlanta campaign
were being formed, Sherman had
been revolving a subsequent march
to the sea in case he was successful.
He had not then made up his mind
whether it should be in the direction
of Mobile or Savannah, but his
Meridian campaign, in Mississippi,
had convinced him that the march
was entirely feasible, and gradually he
worked out in his mind its masterly-
details. At seven in the morning
on November IGth, Sherman rode
out along the Decatur road, passed
his marching troops, and near the
spot where his beloved McPherson
.had fallen, paused for a last look at
the city. "Behind us," he says,
" lay Atlanta, smouldering and in

ruins, the black smoke rising high in air and hanging like a
pall over the ruined city." All about could be seen the glistening
gun-barrels and white-topped wagons, "and the men marching
steadily and rapidly with a cheery look and swinging pace."
Some regimental band struck up "John Brown," and the thou
sands of voices of the vast army joined with a mighty chorus in
song. A feeling of exhilaration per
vaded the troops. This marching
into the unknown held for them the
allurement of adventure, as none but
Sherman knew their destination.
But as he worked his way past them
on the road, many a group called
out, "Uncle Billy, I guess Grant is
waiting for us at Richmond." The
devil-may-care spirit of the troops
brought to Sherman's mind grave
thoughts of his own responsibility.
He knew that success would be re
garded as a matter of course, but
should he fail the march would be
set down as "the wild adventure
of a crazy fool." He had no in
tention of marching directly to
Richmond, but from the first his
objective was the seacoast, at
Savannah or Port Royal, or even
Pensacola, Florida.

RUINS IN ATLANTA

Captain Poe, who liad the work of destruction in charge.
The court-house and a large part of the dwellings escaped
the flames.

Preparations for the great march were made with ex
treme care. Defective wagons and horses were discarded; the
number of heavy guns to he carried along was sixty-five, the
remainder having been sent to Chattanooga. The marching
army numbered about sixty thousand, five thousand of whom
belonged to the cavalry and eighteen hundred to the artillery.
The army was divided into two immense wings, the Right,
the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by General O. O.
Howard, and consisting of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth
corps, and the Left, the Army of Georgia, by General Henry
W. Slocum, composed the Fourteenth and Twentieth corps.
Sherman himself was in supreme command. There were
twenty-five hundred wagons, each drawn by six mules; six
hundred ambulances, with two horses each, while the heavy
guns, caissons, and forges were each drawn by eight horses.
A twenty days' supply of bread, forty of coffee, sugar, and
salt was carried with the army, and a large herd of cattle was
driven on foot.

In Sherman's general instructions it was provided that
the army should march by four roads as nearly parallel as
possible, except the cavalry, which remained under the direct
control of the general commanding. The army was directed
" to forage liberally on the country," but, except along the
roadside, this was to be done by organized foraging parties
appointed by the brigade commanders. Orders were issued
forbidding soldiers to enter private dwellings or to commit
any trespass. The corps commanders were given the option
of destroying mills, cotton-gins, and the like, and where the
army was molested in its march by the burning of bridges,
obstructing the roads, and so forth, the devastation should be
made " more or less relentless, according to the measure of
such hostility." The cavalry and artillery and the foraging

[822]

THE GINS THAT SHERMAN TOOK ALONG

In Hood's hasty evacuation of Atlanta many of his guns were left behind. These 12- pounder Napoleon bronze field-pieces have been
gathered by the Federals from the abandoned fortifications, which had been equipped entirely with field artillery, such as these. It
was an extremely useful capture for Sherman's army, whose supply of artillery had been somewhat limited during the siege, and still
further reduced by the necessity to fortify Atlanta. On the march to the sea Sherman took with him only sixty-five field-pieces.
The Negro refugees in the lower picture recall an embarrassment of the march to the sea. "Negroes of all sizes'" flocked in the army's
path and stayed there, a picturesque procession, holding tightly to the skirts of the army which they believed had come for the sole
purpose of setting them free. The cavalcade of Negroes soon became so numerous that Sherman became anxious for his army's sus
tenance, and finding an old gray-haired black at Covington, Sherman explained to him carefully that if the Negroes continued to swarm
after the army it would fail in its purpose and they would not get their freedom. Sherman believed that the old man spread this
news to the slaves along the line of inarch, and in part saved the army from being overwhelmed by the contrabands.

NEGROES FLOCKING IN THE ARMY'S PATH

(Hampatgtts

parties were permitted to take horses, mules, and wagons from
the inhabitants without limit, except that they were to dis
criminate in favor of the poor. It was a remarkable military
undertaking, in which it was intended to remove restrictions
only to a sufficient extent to meet the requirements of the
march. The cavalry was commanded by General Judson Kil-
patrick, who, after receiving a severe wound at Resaca, in
May, had gone to his home on the banks of the Hudson, in
New York, to recuperate, and, against the advice of his physi
cian, had joined the army again at Atlanta.

On November 15th, most of the great army was started
on its march, Sherman himself riding out from the city next
morning. As he rode near the spot where General McPher-
son had fallen, he paused and looked back at the receding city
with its smoking ruins, its blackened walls, and its lonely,
tenantless houses. The vision of the desperate battles, of the
hope and fear of the past few months, rose before him, as he
tells us, " like the memory of a dream." The day was as per
fect as Nature ever gives. The men were hilarious. They
sang and shouted and waved their banners in the autumn
breeze. Most of them supposed they were going directly
toward Richmond, nearly a thousand miles away. As Sher
man rode past them they would call out, " Uncle Billy, I
guess Grant is waiting for us at Richmond." Only the com
manders of the wings and Kilpatrick were entrusted with the
secret of Sherman's intentions. But even Sherman was not
fully decided as to his objective — Savannah, Georgia, or Port
Royal, South Carolina — until well on the march.

There was one certainty, however — he was fully decided
to keep the Confederates in suspense as to his intentions. To
do this the more effectually he divided his army at the start,
Howard leading his wing to Gordon by way of McDonough
as if to threaten Macon, while Slocum proceeded to Coving-
ton and Madison, with Milledgeville as his goal. Both were
secretly instructed to halt, seven days after starting, at Gor-

[224]

Nov.

1864

The task of General Harder in defending
Savannah was one of peculiar difficulty.
He had only eighteen thousand men, and
he was uncertain where Sherman would
strike. Some supposed that Sherman
would move at once upon Charleston,
hut Hardee argued that the I'nion army
would have to establish a new base of
supplies on the seacoast before attempt
ing to cross the numerous deep rivers
and swamps of South Caiolina. liar-
dee's task therefore was to hold Savan
nah just as long as possible, and then to
withdraw northward to unite with tin-
troops which General Bragg was as
sembling, and with the detachments
scattered at this time over the Carolinas.
In protecting his position around Savan
nah, Fort McAllister was of prime im
portance, since it commanded the Great
Ogeechee River in such a way as to pre
vent the approach of the Federal fleet,

THE DEFENDER OF SAVANNAH

Sherman's dependence for supplies. It
was accordingly manned by a force of
two hundred tinder command of Major
G. \V. Anderson, provided with fifty
days' rations for use in case the work
became isolated. This contingency did
not arrive. About noon of December
l.'Hh, Major Anderson's men saw troops
in blue moving about in the woods.
The number increased. The artillery
on the land side of the fort was turned
upon them as they advanced from one
position to another, and sharpshooters
picked off some of their officers. At
half-past four o'clock, however, the
long-expected charge was made from
three different directions, so that the
defenders, too few in number to hole!
the whole line, were soon overpowered.
Hardee now had to consider more nar
rowly the best time for withdrawing
from the lines at Savannah.

FORT MCALLISTER -THE LAST HARRIER TO THE SEA

FROM SAVANNAH'S ROOF TOPS— 1SG5

No detailed maps, no written description, could show better than these clear and beautiful photographs the almost impregnable posi
tion of the city. For miles the higher ground on which it was possible to build lay on the south bank of the river. From only one direc
tion, the westward, could Savannah be approached without difficult feats of engineering, and here the city was guarded along the
lines of the Georgia Central Railroad by strong entrenchments, held by General Hardee's men. Sherman perceived that a frontal
attack would not only be costly but effort thrown away, and determined that after he had taken Fort McAllister he would make a
combination with the naval forces and invest the city from all sides. The march to the sea would not be completed until such a
combination had been effected. On the evening of the 12th Sherman held consultation with General Howard and with General Hazen

OVER THE IMPASSABLE MARSHES

of the Fifteenth Corps. The latter received orders from Sherman in person to march down the right bank of the Ogeechee and to
assault and carry Fort McAllister by storm. He was well informed as to the hitter's defenses and knew that its heavier batteries
pointed seaward, but that it was weak if attacked from the rear. General Hardee's brave little force of 10,000 were soon to hear
the disheartening news that they were outflanked, that McAllister had fallen, and that Sherman and Admiral Dahlgren, in command
of the fleet in Ossabaw Sound, were in communication. This was on the 13th of December, 1864, but it was not until nine days later
that Sherman was able to send his historic despatch to President Lincoln that began with: "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift,
the City of Savannah."

[c]

Ftnal Campaigns

•*•

•$•

Nov.
1864-

don and Milledgeville, the latter the capital of Georgia, about
a hundred miles to the southeast. These two towns were
about fifteen miles apart.

General Hood and General Beauregard, who had come
from the East to assist him, were in Tennessee, and it was
some days after Sherman had left Atlanta that they heard
of his movements. They realized that to follow him would
now be futile. He was nearly three hundred miles away, and
not only were the railroads destroyed, but a large part of the
intervening country was utterly laid waste and incapable of
supporting an army. The Confederates thereupon turned
their attention to Thomas, who was also in Tennessee, and was
the barrier between Hood and the Northern States.

General Sherman accompanied first one corps of his
army and then another. The first few days he spent with
Davis' corps of Slocum's wing. When they reached Coving-
ton, the negroes met the troops in great numbers, shouting
and thanking the Lord that " deliverance " had come at last.
As Sherman rode along the streets they would gather around
his horse and exhibit every evidence of adoration.

The foraging parties consisted of companies of fifty men.
Their route for the day in which they obtained supplies was
usually parallel to that of the army, five or six miles from it.
They would start out before daylight in the morning, many
of them on foot; but when they rejoined the column in the
evening they were no longer afoot. They were astride mules,
horses, in family carriages, farm wagons, and mule carts,
which they packed with hams, bacon, vegetables, chickens,
ducks, and every imaginable product of a Southern farm that
could be useful to an army.

In the general orders, Sherman had forbidden the soldiers
to enter private houses ; but the order was not strictly adhered
to, as many Southern people have since testified. Sherman
declares in his memoirs that these acts of pillage and violence
were exceptional and incidental. On one occasion Sherman

[ 228 ]

WATERFRONT AT SAVANNAH, 1865

Savannah was better protected by nature from attack by land or water than any other city near the Atlantic seaboard. Stretch
ing to the north, east, and southward lay swamps and morasses through which ran the river-approach of twelve miles to the town.
Innumerable small creeks separated the marshes into islands over which it was out of the question for an army to march without
first building roads and bridging miles of waterways. The Federal fleet had for months been on the blockade off the mouth of the
river, and Savannah had been closed to blockade runners since the fall of Fort Pulaski in April, 1862. But obstructions and power
ful batteries held the river, and Fort McAllister, ten miles to the south, on the Ogeechee, still held the city safe in its guardianship.

FORT MCALLISTER, THAT HELD THE FLEET AT BAY

V"~

saw a man with a ham on his musket, a jug of molasses under
his arm, and a big piece of honey in his hand. As the man
saw that he was observed by the commander, he quoted audibly
to a comrade, from the general order, " forage liberally on
the country." But the general reproved him and explained
that foraging must be carried on only by regularly designated
parties.

It is a part of military history that Sherman's sole pur
pose was to weaken the Confederacy by recognized means of
honorable warfare; but it cannot be denied that there were a
great many instances, unknown to him, undoubtedly, of cow
ardly hold-ups of the helpless inhabitants, or ransacking of
private boxes and drawers in search of jewelry and other
family treasure. This is one of the misfortunes of war — one
of war's injustices. Such practices always exist even under
the most rigid discipline in great armies, and the jubilation
of this march was such that human nature asserted itself in
the license of warfare more than on most other occasions.
General Washington met with similar situations in the Amer
ican Revolution. The practice is never confined to either army
in warfare.

Opposed to Sherman were Wheeler's cavalry, and a large
portion of the Georgia State troops which were turned over
by General G. W. Smith to General Howell Cobb. Kilpat-
rick and his horsemen, proceeding toward Macon, were con
fronted by Wheeler and Cobb, but the Federal troopers drove
them back into the town. However, they issued forth again,
and on November 21st there was a sharp engagement with
Kilpatrick at Griswoldville. The following day the Con
federates were definitely checked and retreated.

The night of November 22d, Sherman spent in the home
of General Cobb, who had been a member of the United States
Congress and of Buchanan's Cabinet. Thousands of soldiers
encamped that night on Cobb's plantation, using his fences
for camp-fire fuel. By Sherman's order, everything on the

[230]

THE FIFTEEN MINUTES' FIGHT

Across these ditches at Fort McAllister, through entangling abatis, over palisading, the Federals had to fight every inch of their way
against the Confederate garrison up to the very doors of their bomb-proofs, before the defenders yielded on December 13th. Sherman
had at once perceived that the position could be carried only by a land assault. The fort was strongly protected by ditches, pali
sades, and plentiful abatis; marshes and streams covered its flanks, but Sherman's troops knew that shoes and clothing and abundant
rations were waiting for them just beyond it, and had any of them been asked if they could take the fort their reply would have been in
the words of the poem : "Ain't we simply got to take it? " Sherman selected for the honor of the assault General Hazen's second division
of the Fifteenth Corps, the same which he himself had commanded at Shiloh and Vicksburg. Gaily the troops crossed the bridge
on the morning of the 13th. Sherman was watching anxiously through his glass lute in the afternoon when a Federal steamer came
up the river and signaled the query: "Is Fort McAllister taken?" To which Sherman sent reply: " Not yet, but it will be in a minute."
At that instant Sherman saw Hazen's troops emerge from the woods before the fort, "the lines dressed as on parade, with colors flying."
Immediately dense clouds of smoke belching from the fort enveloped the Federals. There was a pause; the smoke cleared away, and,
says Sherman, "the parapets were blue with our men." Fort McAllister was taken.

GJampatgtts

plantation movable or destructible was carried away next day,
or destroyed. Such is the price of war.

By the next night both corps of the Left Wing were
at Milledgeville, and on the 24th started for Sandersville.
Howard's wing was at Gordon, and it left there on the day
that Slocum moved from Milledgeville for Irwin's Cross
roads. A hundred miles below Milledgeville was a place called
Millen, and here were many Federal prisoners which Sherman
greatly desired to release. With this in view he sent Kilpat-
rick toward Augusta to give the impression that the army was
marching thither, lest the Confederates should remove the pris
oners from Millen. Kilpatrick had reached Waynesboro when
he learned that the prisoners had been taken away. Here he
again encountered the Confederate cavalry under General
Wheeler. A sharp fight ensued and Kilpatrick drove Wheeler
through the town toward Augusta. As there was no further
need of making a feint on Augusta, Kilpatrick turned back
toward the Left Wing. Wheeler quickly followed and at
Thomas' Station nearly surrounded him, but Kilpatrick cut his
way out. Wheeler still pressed on and Kilpatrick chose a good
position at Buck Head Creek, dismounted, and threw up breast
works. Wheeler attacked desperately, but was repulsed, and
Kilpatrick, after being reenforced by a brigade from Davis'
corps, joined the Left Wing at Louisville.

On the whole, the great march was but little disturbed by
the Confederates. The Georgia militia, probably ten thou
sand in all, did what they could to defend their homes and
their firesides; but their endeavors were futile against the A'ast
hosts that were sweeping through the country. In the skir
mishes that took place between Atlanta and the sea the militia
was soon brushed aside. Even their destroying of bridges and
supplies in front of the invading army checked its progress
but for a moment, as it was prepared for every such emergency.
Wheeler, with his cavalry, caused more trouble, and engaged
Kilpatrick's attention a large part of the time. But even he

" [232]

•^

A BIG GUN AT FORT McALLISTER

Fort McAllister is at last in complete possession of the Federals, and a group of the men who had charged over these ramparts has
arranged itself before the camera as if in the very act of firing the great gun that points seaward across the marshes, toward Ossabaw
Sound. There is one very peculiar thing proved by this photograph— the gun itself is almost in a fixed position as regards range and
sweep of fire.' Instead of the elevating screw to raise or depress the muzzle, there has been substituted a block of wood wedged with
a heavy spike, and the narrow pit in which the gun carriage is sunk admits of it being turned but a foot or so to right or left. It
evidently controlled one critical point in the river, but could not have been used in lending any aid to the repelling of General Hazen's
attack. The officer pointing with outstretched arm is indicating the very spot at which a shell fired from his gun would fall. The
men in the trench a re artillerymen of General Hazen's division of the Fifteenth Corps: their appearance in their fine uniforms, polished
breastplates and buttons, proves that Sherman's men could not have presented the ragged apponrance that they are often pictured as
doing in the war-time sketches. That Army and Navy have come together is proved also by the figure of a marine from the fleet, who
is standing at " Attention " just above the breach of the gun. Next, leaning on his saber, is a cavalryman, in short jacket and chin-strap.

did not seriously retard the irresistible progress of the legions
of the Xorth.

The great army kept on its way by various routes, cover
ing about fifteen miles a day, and leaving a swath of destruc
tion, from forty to sixty miles wide, in its wake. Among
the details attendant upon the march to the sea was that of
scientifically destroying the railroads that traversed the region.
Battalions of engineers had received special instruction in the
art, together with the necessary implements to facilitate rapid
work. But the infantry soon entered this service, too. and it
was a common sight to see a thousand soldiers in blue stand
ing beside a stretch of railway, and, when commanded, bend
as one man and grasp the rail, and at a second command to
raise in unison, which brought a thousand railroad ties up on
end. Then the men fell upon them, ripping rail and tie apart.,
the rails to be heated to a white heat and bent in fantastic
shapes about some convenient tree or other upright column,
the ties being used as the fuel with which to make the fires.
All public buildings that might have a military use were
burned, together with a great number of private dwellings
and barns, some by accident, others wantonly. This fertile
and prosperous region, after the army had passed, was a scene
of ruin and desolation.

As the army progressed, throngs of escaped slaves fol
lowed in its trail, " from the baby in arms to the old negro
hobbling painfully along," says General Howard, " negroes
of all sizes, in all sorts of patched costumes, with carts and
broken-down horses and mules to match." Many of the old
negroes found it impossible to keep pace with the army for
many days, and having abandoned their homes and masters
who could have cared for them, they were left to die of hun
ger and exposure in that naked land.

After the Ogeechee River was crossed, the character of
the country was greatly changed from that of central Georgia.
No longer were there fertile farms, laden with their Southern

[ 234 ]

•--..

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY

THE TROOPS THAT MARCHED

TO THE SEA
BK( OM E DAY-LABORERS

Here arc the men that marched to the sea
doing their turn as day-laborers, gleefully trun
dling their wheelbarrows, gatheringup everything
of value in Fort McAllister to swell the size of
Sherman's "Christmas present." Brigadier-
General W B. Hazen, after his men had suc
cessfully stormed the stubbornly defended fort,
reported the capture of twenty-four pieces of
ordnance, with their equipment, forty tons of
ammunition, a month's supply of food for the
garrison, and the small arms of the command.
In the upper picture the army engineers are
busily at work removing a great 48-pounder
8-inch Columbiad that had so long repelled the
Federal fleet. There is always work enough and
to spare for the engineers both before and after
the capture of a fortified position. In the wheel
barrows is a harvest of shells and torpedoes.
These deadly instruments of destruction had
been relied upon by the Confederates to protect
the land approach to Fort McAllister, which was

much less .strongly defensible on that side than
at the waterfront. While Sherman's army was
approaching Savannah one of his officers had his
leg blown off by a torpedo buried in the road and
stepped on by his horse. After that Sherman
set a line of Confederate pr soners across the
road to march ahead of the army, and no more
torpedoes were found. After the capture of
Fort McAllister the troops set to work gingerly
scraping about wherever the ground seemed to
have been disturbed, trying to find and remove
the dangerous hidden menaces to life. At last
the ground was rendered safe and the troops
settled down to the occupation of Fort McAllister
where the bravely fighting little Confederate
garrison had held the key to Savannah. The
city was the first to fall of the Confederacy's
Atlantic seaports, now almost locked from the
outside world by the blockade. By the capture
of Fort McAllister, which crowned the march to
the sea, Sherman had numbered the days of the
war. The fall of the remaining ports was to
follow in quick succession, and by Washing
ton's Birthday. 1865, the entire coast-line was
to be in possession of the Federals.

,
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SHERMAN'S TROOPS DISMANTLING FORT MrALLISTER

Itrrman's 3flmal (Eampatgna

•*•

Dec.
18(i4

harvests of corn and vegetables, but rather rice plantations and
great pine forests, the solemn stillness of which was broken
by the tread of thousands of troops, the rumbling of wagon-
trains, and by the shouts and music of the marching men and
of the motley crowd of negroes that followed.

Day by day Sherman issued orders for the progress of
the wings, but on December 2d they contained the decisive
words, " Savannah." What a tempting prize was this fine
Southern city, and how the Northern commander would add
to his laurels could he effect its capture ! The memories cling
ing about the historic old town, with its beautiful parks and its
magnolia-lined streets, are part of the inheritance of not only
the South, but of all America. Here Oglethorpe had bartered
with the wild men of the forest, and here, in the days of the
Revolution, Count Pulaski and Sergeant Jasper had given
up their lives in the cause of liberty.

Sherman had partially invested the city before the middle
of December; but it was well fortified and he refrained from
assault. General Hardee, sent by Hood from Tennessee, had
command of the defenses, with about fifteen thousand men.
And there Avas Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee, protecting
the city on the south. But this obstruction to the Federals
was soon removed. General Hazen's division of the Fifteenth
Corps was sent to capture the fort. At five o'clock in the
afternoon of the 13th Hazen's men rushed through a shower
of grape, over abatis and hidden torpedoes, scaled the parapet
and captured the garrison. That night Sherman boarded the
Dandelion, a Union vessel, in the river, and sent a message to //
the outside world, the first since he had left Atlanta.

Henceforth there was communication between the army
and the Federal squadron, under the command of Admiral
Dahlgren. Among the vessels that came up the river there
was one that was received with great enthusiasm by the sol
diers. It brought mail, tons of it, for Sherman's army, the
accumulation of two months. One can imagine the eagerness

AVith much foresight, General Hardee had
riot waited for Sherman's approach, but before
the Federal forces could prevent, had marched
out with his force with the intention of joining
Johnston. There were in the neighborhood of
some twenty thousand inhabitants in the city
of Savannah when Sherman took possession, and
the man who had made a Christmas present of
their city to Lincoln had no easy task before
him to preserve order and to meet the many
claims made upon his time by the responsibili
ties of city government. Hut Sherman regarded
the war as practically over and concluded that he
would make it optional with the citizens and their
families to remain in the city under a combina
tion of military and civil government, or rejoin
their friends in Augusta or the still unsurrendered
but beleaguered town of Charleston. After con
sulting with Dr. Arnold, the Mayor, the City
Council was assembled and authorized to take
charge generally of the interests of those who
remained. About two hundred of the families
of men still fighting in the Confederate army were
sent by steamer under a flag of truce to Charles
ton, but the great majority preferred to remain

DESTRUCTION THAT FOLLOWED WAR

in Savannah. During the night before the
Federal occupation, fires had broken out and a
scene of chaos had resulted. There is no doubt
that Sherman had destroyed vast amounts of
Confederate stores, that he had torn up railway
tracks and burned stations, and that his army
had subsisted on what supplies it could' gather
from the country through which it had passed,
but in the bitter feelings of the times, rumors
scattered by word of mouth and repeated by
newspapers as deliberate accusations had gone
to the extreme in stating the behavior of his
army. Yet, nevertheless, many Confederate
officers still in the field confided their families to
Sherman's keeping and left them in their city
homes. Cotton was contraband and although
the Confederates sought to destroy it, as was
just and proper, at Savannah thirty-one bales of
cotton became a prize to the army. The news
papers were not suppressed entirely and two
were allowed to be published, although under
the closest censorship. Hut as we look at the
ruins of fine houses and desolated homes we
begin to appreciate more fully Sherman's own
solemn declaration that "War is Hell."

RUINS AT SAVANNAH, 18(55

(Eampatgns

Dec.
1864

with which these war-stained veterans opened the longed-for
letters and sought the answer to the ever-recurring question,
' How are things at home? "

Sherman had set his heart on capturing Savannah; but, on
December 15th, he received a letter from Grant which greatly
disturbed him. Grant ordered him to leave his artillery and
cavalry, with infantry enough to support them, and with the
remainder of his army to come by sea to Virginia and join
the forces before Richmond. Sherman prepared to obey, but
hoped that he would be able to capture the city before the
transports would be ready to carry him northward.

He first called on Hardee to surrender the city, with a
threat of bombardment. Hardee refused. Sherman hesitated
to open with his guns because of the bloodshed it would occa
sion, and on December 21st he W7as greatly relieved to discover
that Hardee had decided not to defend the city, that he had
escaped with his army the night before, by the one road that
was still open to him, which led across the Savannah River
into the Carolinas. The stream had been spanned by an im
provised pontoon bridge, consisting of river-boats, with planks
from city wharves for flooring and with old car-wheels for
anchors. Sherman immediately took possession of the city,
and on December 22d he sent to President Lincoln this mes
sage: " I beg to present to you, as a Christmas gift, the city
of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty
of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of
cotton." As a matter of fact, over two hundred and fifty guns
were captured, and thirty-one thousand bales of cotton. Gen
eral Hardee retreated to Charleston.

Events in the West now changed Grant's views as to
Sherman's joining him immediately in Virginia. On the 16th
of December, General Thomas accomplished the defeat and
utter rout of Hood's army at Nashville. In addition, it was
found that, owing to lack of transports, it would take at least
two months to transfer Sherman's whole army by sea. There-

[238

' v
X

HOMEWARD BOUND

Wagon- trains leaving Savannah. Here the wagon- trains of the victorious army are ready just outside of Savannah for the march
northward. The troops, in high glee and splendid condition, again abundantly supplied with food and clothes, are impatient to be
off. But a difficult country confronts them — a land of swollen streams and nearly tropical swamps like that in the lower photograph,
picturesque enough, but "bad going" for teams. Near this the Fifteenth Corps passed on its way to Columbia. It is typical of the
spongy ground over which the army must pass, building causeways and corduroying roads. Sherman himself rated this homeward
march as ;i greater achievement than his much-sung "Atlanta to the Sea."

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THE CONGAKEE RIVER BRIDGE

THE PRESBYTERIAN LECTURE-ROOM

THE EMPTY PRISON-

FREIGHT DEPOT, SOUTH CAROLINA KAII,KOAD THE CATHOLIC CONVEX'

AS COU'MBIA LOOKED AFTER SHERMAN'S ARMY PASSED, IN 180.5

HOME OF STATE SURGEON-GENERAL GIBBS

EVANS AND COGGSWELL S PRINTING SHOP

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH

DESERTED MAIN STREET

THE SOUTH CAROLINA RAILROAD OFFICES

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WASHINGTON STREET

WHAT WAR BROUGHT TO THE CAPITAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA

fore, it was decided that Sherman should march through the
Carolinas, destroying tlie railroads in both States as he went.
A little more than a month Sherman remained in Savannah.
Then he began another great march, compared with which, as
Sherman himself declared, the march to the sea was as child's
play. The size of his army on leaving Savannah was prac
tically the same as when he left Atlanta — sixty thousand. It
was divided into two wings, under the same commanders,
Howard and Slocum, and was to be governed by the same
rules. Kilpatrick still commanded the cavalry. The march
from Savannah averaged ten miles a day, which, in view of the
conditions, was a very high average. The weather in the early
part of the journey was exceedingly wet and the roads were
well-nigh impassable. Where they were not actually under
water the mud rendered them impassable until corduroyed.
Moreover, the troops had to wade streams, to drag themselves
through swamps and quagmires, and to remove great trees
that had been felled across their pathway.

The city of Savannah was left under the control of Gen
eral J. G. Foster, and the Left Wing of Sherman's army under
Slocum moved up the Savannah River, accompanied by Kil
patrick, and crossed it at Sister's Ferry. The river was over
flowing its banks and the crossing, by means of a pontoon
bridge, was effected with the greatest difficulty. The Right
Wing, under Howard, embarked for Beaufort, South Caro
lina, and moved thence to Pocotaligo, near the Broad River,
whither Sherman had preceded it, and the great march north
ward was fairly begun by February 1, 186.5.

Sherman had given out the word that he expected to go
to Charleston or Augusta, his purpose being to deceive the
Confederates, since he had made up his mind to march straight
to Columbia, the capital of South Carolina.

The two wings of the army were soon united and the}7
continued their great march from one end of the State of South
Carolina to the other. The men felt less restraint in devas-

[244]

THE MEN WHO LIVED OFF THE COUNTRY — HEADQUARTERS GUARD ON THE MARCH THROUGH

NORTH CAROLINA

These men have not been picked out by the photographer on account of their healthy and well-fed appearance; they are just average
samples of what the units of Sherman's army looked like as they pressed on toward Fayetteville and the last battle in the Caro-
linas, Bentonville, where General Johnston made a brave stand before falling back upon Raleigh. The men of the march to the
sea were champions in covering ground. The condition of the roads did not seem to stop them, nor the fact that they had to fight
as they pressed on. During the forced march to Bentonville the right wing, under General Howard, marched twenty miles, almost
without a halt, skirmishing most of the way.

tating the country and despoiling the people than they had
felt in Georgia. The reason for this, given by Sherman and
others, was that there was a feeling of bitterness against South
Carolina as against no other State. It was this State that
had led the procession of seceding States and that had fired
on Fort Sumter and brought on the great war. Xo doubt
this feeling, which pervaded the army, will account in part for
the reckless dealing with the inhabitants by the Federal sol
diery. The superior officers, however, made a sincere effort
to restrain lawlessness.

On February 17th, Sherman entered Columbia, the mayor
having come out and surrendered the city. The Fifteenth
Corps marched through the city and out on the Camden road,
the remainder of the army not having come within two miles
of the city. On that night Columbia was in flames. The con
flagration spread and ere the coming of the morning the best
part of the city had been laid in ashes.

Before Sherman left Columbia he destroyed the machine-
shops and everything else which might aid the Confederacy.
He left with the mayor one hundred stand of arms with which
to keep order, and five hundred head of cattle for the destitute.

As Columbia was approached by the Federals, the occu
pation of Charleston by the Confederates became more and
more untenable. In vain had the governor of South Carolina
pleaded with President Davis to reenforce General Hardee,
who occupied the city. Hardee thereupon evacuated the his
toric old city — much of which was burned, whether by design
or accident is not known — and its defenses, including Fort
Sumter, the bombardment of which, nearly four years before,
had precipitated the mighty conflict, were occupied by Colonel
Bennett, who came over from Morris Island.

On March llth, Sherman reached Fayetteville, Xorth
Carolina, where he destroyed a fine arsenal. Hitherto, Sher
man's march, except for the annoyance of Wheeler's cavalry,
had been but slightly impeded by the Confederates. But

[246]

COLOR-GUARD OF THE EIGHTH MINNESOTA— WITH SHERMAN WHEN JOHNSTON SURRENDERED

Tin- Eighth Minnesota Regiment, which had joined Sherman on his second march, was with him when Johnston's surrender wrote
"Finis" to the last chapter of the war, April 27, 1865. In Bennett's little farmhouse, near Durham's Station, N. C., were begun
the negotiations between Johnston and Sherman which finally led to that event. The two generals met there on April 17th; it was a
highly dramatic moment, for Sherman had in his pocket the cipher message just received telling of the assassination of. Lincoln.

THE END OF THE MARCH— BENNETT'S FARMHOUSE

Olampatgna

1805

henceforth this was changed. General Joseph 1$. Johnston,
his old foe of Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain, had been re
called and was now in command of the troops in the Carolinas.
Xo longer would the streams and the swamps furnish the only
resistance to the progress of the Union army.

The first engagement came at Averysboro on March
16th. General Hardee, having taken a strong position, made
a determined stand; but a division of Slocum's wing, aided
by Ivilpatrick, soon put him to flight, with the loss of several
guns and over two hundred prisoners.

The battle of Bentonville, which took place three days
after that of Averysboro, was more serious. Johnston had
placed his whole army, probably thirty-five thousand men, in
the form of a V, the sides embracing the village of Benton
ville. Slocum engaged the Confederates while Howard was
hurried to the scene. On two days, the 19th and 2()th of
March, Sherman's army fought its last battle in the Civil
War. But Johnston, after making several attacks, resulting
in considerable losses on both sides, withdrew his army during
the night, and the Union army moved to Goldsboro. The
losses at Bentonville were: Federal, 1.004; Confederate, 2,348.

At Goldsboro the Union army was reenforced by its
junction with Schofield, who had come out of the West with
over twenty-two thousand men from the army of Thomas in
Tennessee. But there was little need of reenforcement. Sher
man's third great march was practically over. As to the rela
tive importance of the second and third, Sherman declares in
his memoirs, he would place that from Atlanta to the sea at
one, and that from Savannah through the Carolinas at ten.

Leaving his army in charge of Schofield, Sherman went
to City Point, in Virginia, where he had a conference with
General Grant and President Lincoln, and plans for the final
campaign were definitely arranged. He returned to Golds
boro late in March, and, pursuing Johnston, received, finally,
on April 2(>th the surrender of his army.

[248]

PART III
CLOSING IX

NASHVILLE— THE END

IN TENNESSEE

GUARDING THE CUMBERLAND — WHERE THOMAS WATCHED
FOR HOOD AT THE NASHVILLE BRIDGE

FORT NEGLEY,

THE IMPOSING DEFENSE

OF NASHVILLE

Perched on a hill overlooking Nashville stood Fort Negley— a large, complex citadel ready for action at
any time. Though it was little called upon, its very aspect would have caused an enemy much reflection
ere deciding to attack. Within the work were two casemates (one of which is shown in the fine photo-
rraph above) covered with railroad iron and made bomb-proof with earth. Fort Negley was designed
and built on the German polygonal system early in 1862 and was regarded as satisfying the most exacting
of the Old World standards as an up-to-date fortification. By the middle of November, 1864, with Sher
man well on his march to the sea, the struggle in middle Tennessee had reached a crisis. Hood had
invaded the State and Thomas had confided to Schofield the task of checking the Southern army.
Thomas himself sent out his couriers and drew in all the available Federal forces to Nashville. There he
meant to give battle to Hood when the Confederate leader, racing Schofield, should reach the State
capital. The dramatic running fight between Hood and Schofield from Columbia to Nashville is graphi
cally described in the accompanying text.

THE BATTLES OF FRANKLIN AND
NASHVILLE

The Army of Tennessee under General Hood, pursuing its march
northward late in November and earlv in December, came upon the Fed
eral forces under General Schofield at Franklin, and General Thomas at
Nashville, Tennessee, where desperate battles were fought, until Hood's
army was reduced to skeleton commands and forced to retreat. — Lieutenant-
General Junicx Long-street, C.S.A., in "From Manctssas to Appomattoac.^

W II ILK Hood was turning back from Atlanta in the
great northward movement, which, in the hopes of the
Confederacy, would bring the Army of Tennessee to the banks
of the Ohio, there was gathering at and around Xashville a
force to dispute the progress of Hood. General Thomas was
sent by Sherman " to take care of Tennessee," and he was
preparing to weld many fragmentary bodies cf troops into a
fighting army.

After a month of bold maneuvering, the advance of
Hood's army appeared, on the 26th of October, at Decatur,
on the south side of the Tennessee. It had been a time of
perplexity to the Federal authorities and of intense alarm
throughout the North. Hood had twice thrown his army be
tween Sherman and the latter's base; had captured four garri
sons, and destroyed thirty miles of railroad. His movements
had been bold and brilliantly executed.

At Decatur, Hood found himself too far east to join with
Forrest, whose cooperation was absolutely necessary to him.
So he moved westward to Florence where the first division of
his army, with but little opposition from Croxton's cavalry,
crossed the Tennessee on the 31st. Forrest had gone down the
river to intercept the Federal line of supplies. At John-

[ 252 ]

ICyi; r

CHATTANOOGA FORTIFIED IX 1801

When Hood mad*' his audacious movement upon Sherman's communications, by invading Tennessee — without however tempting
the Northern commander from his grim course— Chattanooga was the only point in Thomas' Department, south of Nashville, which
was heavily garrisoned. This town became the supply center for all the Federal posts maintained in eastern Tennessee. Therefore
it had been well fortified, so strongly in fact that Thomas, who had just begun his great concentration movement, was able by Decem
ber 1st to draw Steedman away to the Elk River and thence to Nashville. It was from a point on the hill a little to the right of the
scene shown in the lower photograph on this page that the picture of Chattanooga fortified was taken.

CHATTANOOGA AND THE MILITARY BRIDGE

raukltu

•$•

Nov.
1864

sonville he disabled the gunboats to such an extent that
they were burned to prevent their falling into his hands.
The fire spread to the Federal stores on the levee and $1,500,-
000 of Government property thereby was destroyed. The gar
rison held firm. Forrest withdrew his troops and crossed the
river above the town. He had received orders to join Hood
as quickly as possible and reached Florence on Xovember 14th.
General Hood was now free to invade Tennessee. Sherman
had sent the Fourth Corps, under Stanley, and the Twenty-
third, under Schofield, the latter in command of both, back to
Thomas, and this force was now at Pulaski to oppose Hood.

On the morning of November 19th, the army of Hood was
put in motion. The day was disagreeable. It snowed and
rained, and there was sleet and ice for the men to face. Over
the slippery roads the army trudged, led by the cavalry of the
daring Forrest. The wary Hood did not choose to be
" checked at Pulaski," but passed adroitly by on the other side,
urging his ranks forward toward Columbia on the Duck River.
At midnight of the 23d, General Schofield learned of the
movements of Hood. He knew that if the latter reached Co
lumbia he could easily capture the garrison at that place and
then be free to cross the river and cut him off from Thomas.
The sleeping troops were quickly aroused and in an hour
were making their way through the night to Columbia, twenty-
one miles distant. Another column, led by General Cox, start
ing somewhat later, was pushing rapidly over another road to
the same point. It was a race between the armies of Hood and
Schofield for the crossing at Columbia. The weary, footsore
Federals barely won. Cox, by taking a cross-road, came to
the rescue only a few miles south of Columbia, as Forrest was
driving the Federal cavalry back, and the little army was saved.
The Union army entrenched itself for battle. Works were
thrown up while the wagon trains were retreating beyond the
river. But it was found impracticable to hold the position.
All during the night of the 27th, there was a steady stream of

[254]

THE "BUSINESS OF WAR" AT AN ALABAMA RAILROAD STATION— FEDERALS CON
CENTRATING AT STEVENSON BEFORE THE NASHVILLE BATTLE

Early in the winter of 1864, this station in the little Alabama town fairly hummed with the movement of
men and horses and supplies. Schofield's division of Thomas' army was being concentrated there for the
campaign which culminated, in the middle of December, at the bloody battle of Nashville. A business
like crowd is shown in this picture, of soldiers and citizens, with more than one commanding figure in the
foreground. The railroad played a part most important and most vulnerable in the Western campaigns.

nwklttt

men, wagons, and artillery, passing over to the north side of
Duck River. Not until daylight did the rear guard burn the
railroad bridge and scuttle the pontoon boats, behind them.

The 28th of November was a suspiciously quiet day in
front of Columbia. Xot so, along other parts of the river bank.
About noon, at various points, squads of Confederate cavalry
appeared, indicating their purpose to cross, which was finally
accomplished.

At daybreak the next morning, with Hood himself in the
lead, the Confederate army, headed by one of its most cour
ageous divisions, was quickly marching again to intercept the
retreat of Schofield. Spring Hill, fifteen miles north of Co
lumbia, was the objective of Hood. This wras a brilliant piece
of strategy, and the Confederate general hurried his columns
along that he might reach the point first. Succeeding in this
he could easily turn the Union flank, and nothing could save
that army. It all depended on who should win the race.

The Confederates marched lightly. It was a beautiful,
crisp morning and the men were in high hopes. There was
every prospect of their winning, since the Union army was
heavy and it moved sluggishly. To save the Federal wagon
train, and its contents of food, clothing, and ammunition, which
was slowly moving along the roads to the north, with only the
little force of warriors in blue interposing between them and
the eager Confederate legions, General Stanley was ordered
forward, to make a dash to the rescue. As he neared the town
he saw on his right the Confederate columns abreast of him on
a parallel road. A little further on, he was informed that For
rest's cavalry was approaching rapidly from the east.

Xo time was now to be lost. Although his men were
weary from their hurried march, they were pushed forward at
the double-quick into town. The opposing forces met on the
edge of the village; a light skirmish followed, in which the
Federals secured the main approaches to the town.

Schofield's army was in a splendid position to invite attack.

[256]

RUSHING A FEDERAL BATTERY OUT OF JOHNSONVILLE

When Thomas began to draw together his forces to meet Hood at Nashville, he ordered the garrison at
Johnsonville, on the Tennessee, eighty miles due west of Nashville, to leave that place and hasten north.
It was the garrison at this same Johnsonville that, a month earlier, had been frightened into panic and
flight when the bold Confederate raider, Forrest, appeared on the west bank of the river and began a noisy
cannonade. New troops had been sent to the post. They appear well coated and equipped. The day
after the photograph was taken (November 23d) the encampment in the picture was broken.

dff] rmtklm

Nov.
1864

The forces were widely scattered, and the situation was indeed
critical. The afternoon of November 29th records a series of
lost opportunities to the Confederates. From noon until seven
o'clock in the evening the little force of Stanley was completely
isolated from the main army. Hood had sufficient troops lit
erally to crush him, to cut off the retreat of Schofield, and
thereby to defeat that wing of the Federal army. During the
afternoon and evening there were various attempts made on
the Union lines, which were stoutly resisted. The vigor of
the repulse, the lack of concentration in the attack and, per
haps, the coming of evening saved the day for the Federals.
\\ >\\^\\V\\N The Confederates bivouacked for the night near the pike.

Brightly their camp-fires gleamed, as the Federal wagon trains
and the columns of Northern soldiers trudged along through a
moonless night, within a few rods of the resting Confederates.
The Southern troops were plainly visible to the Federals, as WJ%<
they were seen moving about the camp. There was constant
apprehension lest the Southern army should fall upon the pass
ing army, but the officer who was ordered to block the Federal
march made but a feeble and partial attack. Hood realized
that he had lost the best opportunity for crushing Schofield
that the campaign had offered, and deplored the failure most
bitterly.

Schofield reached Spring Hill about seven in the evening.
At the same hour the last company of his troops was leaving
Columbia, about eleven miles away. All through the night the
procession continued. The intrepid Stanley stood guard at a
narrow bridge, as the long train wended its way in the darkness
over the hills in the direction of Nashville. At daybreak, as
the rear wagons safely passed, and the skirmishers were called
in, the advance columns, under Cox, were reaching the outskirts
of Franklin.

This village, situated on a bend of the Harpeth River,
was admirably located for a great battle. On the north and
west, it was protected by the river. Beyond the stream, to the

[ 258 ]

FORT XEGLEY, LOOKING TOWARD THE CONFEDERATE CENTER AND LEFT, AS

HOOD'S VETERANS THREATENED THE CITY

It was Hood's hope that, when he had advanced his line to the left of the position shown in this photo
graph, he might catch a weak spot in Thomas' forces. But Thomas had no weak spots. From the case
mate, armored with railroad iron, shown here, the hills might be easily seen on which the Confederate
center and left were posted at the opening of the great battle of Nashville.

THE I'RIZK OF THE NASHVILLE CAMPAIGN— THE STATE CAPITOL

iklttt att& NaBlfmll? «& * * * *

Nov.
1864

north, were three prominent hills, giving excellent elevations
for batteries, and commanding a broad plain that lay in front of
the town. These were utilized by the Federals. To the south
were low ridges on which an attacking party might entrench.

Schofield had not expected to give battle at Franklin. He
was hurrying his men to reach the protecting entrenchments
of Nashville. But he would not be taken unawares. Though
his men had marched and fought by turns for a week, by day
and night, until they were on the point of exhaustion, yet the
tired and hungry troops, before they had prepared their morn
ing meal, laid down the musket and took up the spade. Soon
entrenchments stretched along on two sides of the town. Bat
teries of artillery were placed at the front and in the rear,
guarding the lines of probable attack. To this protecting
haven, the weary regiments, one by one, filed, until, by noon,
the last one had safely found its way to the entrenched walls of
Franklin. The wagon trains passed over the Harpeth and the
troops would soon follow after. But this was not to be. Even
then, the Confederate vanguard was close at hand.

It was a glorious Indian summer afternoon. For two
hours the Federal troops had been looking through the hazy
atmosphere to the eastward hills. The day was already begin
ning to wane, when from the wooded ridge there emerged the
stately columns of the army of Hood. On a rise in front of the
Union lines stood Wagner's two brigades, in uniforms of blue.
They were stationed, unsupported, directly in front of the Con
federate approach. It was evident that " some one had blun
dered." But there they stood, waiting for the impact of the
line in gray. A concentrated roar of musketry burst forth and
they were engulfed in the on-sweeping torrent.

The Confederate ranks plunged on, carrying the helpless
brigades along. With tremendous momentum they rushed
toward the works. The guns along the Federal line were silent.
They dare not fire on their own routed men. The weight of the
oncoming mass of humanity broke through the first line of

[ 260 ]

A STATE HOUSE STOCKADED

Shortly after the occupation of
Nashville by the Union forces in
February, 1802, General Morton,
of the U. S. Corps of Engineers,
began work on its fortifications.
Around the capitol were built
earth par.ipets and stockades,
and enough room was provided
to mount fifteen guns. The
strong, massive structure, plen
tifully supplied with water,
could easily accommodate a regi
ment of infantry — enough in

such a citadel to hold an entire
army at bay. This, however,
was but a part of the entire line
of defenses he planned. He was
intending to fortify Morton and
Houston Hills, and a third on
which Fort Xegley was actually
constructed. The pictures show
the city which the works were
built to defend, but which Mor
ton was prepared to leave to the
enemy if forced to retreat within
his lines.

THE STOCKADE AND THE PARAPET

THE NASHVILLE CAPITOL FORTIFIED

ranklm au& Nasljtrilb

•*•

•$•

Nov.
1 804

Federal infantry. The center of the Union front had been
pierced. Like a wedge the Southern troops thrust themselves
through the opening. Two captured batteries began an enfilad
ing fire upon the broken Union lines, and from the right and
the left the pitiless fire poured upon their flanks. The shattered
regiments were past re-forming for the emergency. The teams
from the captured batteries galloped to the rear. The day was
nearly lost to the Union army.

Colonel Opdycke of Wagner's division had brought his
brigade within the lines and was ready for the emergency.
Turning toward his men to give the order to charge, he
found they had already fixed their bayonets for the des
perate encounter. Behind these men stood the Twelfth and
Sixteenth Kentucky regiments in the same attitude. ' First
Brigade, forward to the works," came the ringing words of the
colonel. His men scarcely needed the order. Following their
gallant leader, they saw him ride forward, empty his revolver,
then use it as a club in a hand-to-hand fight, and finally
dismount and grasp a musket. The men fought like demons,
in their desperate endeavor to stem the tide of gray.

Stanley, at his headquarters beyond the river, had seen the
impending disaster to the troops. Galloping to the scene of
battle, he was about to order Opdycke to the attack. He was
too late to give the command but not too late to enter the con
flict. Cheering his men, he rode into the death-dealing contest
in which he was presently severely wounded. The bayonet and
the clubbed musket were freely used. The breach was closed,
and the day was all but won by the Federals.

The recaptured guns now poured their charges of death
into the shattered ranks in gray. But the courageous Southern
ers were not to be thus outdone. The cloud of smoke had
hardly cleared from the field when they again took up the gage
of battle. In sheer desperation and with an appalling reckless
ness of life, they thrust themselves upon the Union lines
again and again, only to recoil, battered and

[262]

bleeding.

THOMAS— THE "ROCK OF ( IIK KAMAUGA" WHO BECAME THE "SLEDGE OF NASHVILLE"

Major-General George Henry Thomas, Virginia-horn soldier loyal to the Union; commended for gallantry in the Seminole War, and
for service in Mexico; won the hattle of Mill Spring, January 19, 1862; commanded the right wing of the Army of the Tennessee
against Corinth and at Perryville, and the center at Stone's River. Only his stability averted overwhelming defeat for the Federals
at Chickamauga. At Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge he was a host in himself. After Sherman had taken Atlanta he sent
Thomas back to Tennessee to grapple with Hood. How he crushed Hood by his sledge-hammer blows is told in the accompanying
text. Thomas, sitting down in Nashville, bearing the brunt of Grant's impatience, and ignoring completely the proddings from Wash
ington to advance before he was ready, while he waited grimly for the psychological moment to strike the oncoming Confederate host
under Hood, is one of the really big dramatic figures of the entire war. It has been well said of Thomas that every promotion he re
ceived was a reward of merit; and that during his long and varied career as a soldier no crisis ever arose too great for his ability.

rankitn

•$•

Dec.
1864

Evening fell upon the battling hosts, and long into the night
there was heard the sharp volleys of musketry. Thus closed
one of the fiercest of the minor struggles of the Civil War. At
midnight, Schofield withdrew from the trenches of Franklin
and fell back to Thomas at Xashville.

Many gallant Southern leaders fell on the battlefield of
Franklin, whose loss to the Confederacy was irreparable. Five
generals and a long list of field-officers were among the
killed. General Patrick Cleburne, a native of Ireland and a
veteran of the British army, and General John Adams, both
fell in the desperate charges at the breach in the Federal lines
when Wagner's brigades were swept headlong from the front
of the battle-line.

Hood appeared before the army of Thomas, on December
2d. Preparations at once began in both camps for the decisive
contest. Hood was furnishing his army with supplies and with
shoes, and throwing up entrenchments parallel to those of the
Union army. Thomas was remounting his cavalry and in
creasing the strength of his works. The city was well fortified.
On the surrounding hills the forts bristled witli cannon. But
the Federal commander was not ready for battle.

Thomas was not a born military strategist. But he was a
remarkable tactician. Xo battle of the war was better planned
and none was so nearly carried out to the letter of the plan as
the battle of Nashville. It has been said that this plan of
Thomas is the only one of the entire war that is now studied
as a model in European military schools.

But Thomas was not acting quickly enough to satisfy
Grant and the Washington authorities. Day after day, tele
grams and messages poured in on him, giving advice and urg
ing immediate action. Thomas stood firm. Finally an order
for his removal was issued but never delivered. In a telegram
to Halleck, Thomas stated that if it was desirable to relieve him
of his command he would submit without a murmur.

Finally, preparations were completed. But, just then a

[2G4]

EVIEW OF REVIEWS CO.

THIRTY-TWO OHIO REGIMENTS FOUGHT AT NASHVILLE— A TYPICAL GROUP OF VETERANS, FROM THE
ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY-FIFTH— "OPDYCKE'S TIGERS"

Ohio's part in 1801-65 was a large one, promptly and bravely played. Thirty-two regiments, besides cavalry companies and artillery
batteries from that State, were in service in the operations around Nashville. Colonel Emerson Opdycke, afterwards brevetted major-
general, commanded the One-IIundred-and-Twenty-fifth Ohio as part of the rear-guard at Spring Hill. Some of these troops are
shown above The lads in the lower picture made up the band of the One-Hundred-and-Twenty-fifth.

THE "TIGER BAND" OF THE ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY-FIFTH OHIO BEFORE NASHVILLE

r~ — VF

_ W.j

rattklin ani

Naalnrill? * * 4- * *

•

Dee.
1864

severe storm of freezing rain poured down upon the waiting
armies and held the country in its frigid grasp. The ground
was covered with a glare of ice. Horses and men slid and
sprawled on the slippery surface. It was impossible to move
an army under such conditions. Still the bombardment of
messages from the East continued.

On December 14th, the ice began to melt. That night
Thomas called a council of his corps commanders and laid
before them his well-matured plans for the morrow's battle.
Then he telegraphed to Grant that the ice had melted and the
attack would be made in the morning. Had the storm con
tinued, the attack must have been postponed and Thomas prob
ably would not have been the hero of Xashville. Even as
it was, Logan was hurrying from the East toward that city to
take command of the army. When he reached Louisville, in
Kentucky, on the 17th, he heard that the battle was over and
he came no farther.

At four on the morning of December 15th, reveille
sounded through the Union camp of fifty-five thousand sol
diers. Two hours later, the men were standing in array of bat
tle. The air was soft and even balmy. A heavy river-fog hung
over the lowlands and across the city. In the dense pall, regi
ments of soldiers, like phantom warriors, moved across the
country.

By nine o'clock the sun had pierced the mist and to the
observers on the hilltops it was a brilliant spectacle. The battle-
lines were rapidly forming. With the precision of a well-oiled
machine, the battalions were moving to their places. Squad
rons of cavalry were passing along the lowlands to take their
position in the battle-line. Great guns glinted through em
brasures ready to vomit forth their missiles of destruction.

The plan of the battle of Nashville as formed by Thomas
was simple — a feint attack on the opposing army's right, the
striking of a sudden and irresistible blow on his left, followed
by successive attacks until the Southern army was battered into

[266]

v///,

THOMAS ADVANCING HIS OUTER LINE AT NASHVILLE, DECEMBER IGTH

Camp-fires were still smouldering along the side of the abatis where the lens caught the field of Nashville, while Thomas' concentric
forward movement was in progress. Note the abatis to the right of the picture, the wagons moving and ready to move in the back
ground, and the artillery on the left. White tents gleam from the distant hills. A few straggling soldiers remain. The Federals
are closing with Hood's army a couple of miles to the right of the scene in the picture.

GIARDINC THE LINE DIRING THE ADVANCE

rankltu

disorganization and routed. About forty-five thousand Fed
erals were actually engaged at Xashville. Against them Hood
mustered some thirty-eight thousand Confederates.

At eight o'clock, Steedman sent Colonels Morgan and
Grosvenor to demonstrate on the Confederate right. This was
gallantly done, in the face of a severe fire, and so closely did
it resemble a genuine attack that Hood was completely de
ceived. At once, he drew troops from his center to strengthen
the endangered flank. Then on the Union right, infantry
and dismounted cavalry moved out against the weakened Con
federate left.

The cooperation of these two arms of the service was al
most perfect. Soon, the battle was raging along the entire
front. The Federal forces were gradually converging. The
Confederate lines were being crowded from their first position.
Montgomery Hill, the salient point of the Confederate defense,
was a strong position commanding a view of the surrounding
country. It was here that one of the most daring assaults of
the day was made. At one o'clock, Colonel Post's brigade
dashed up the hill, direct at the works on the summit. The
color-bearers forged rapidly ahead. At the top, without a mo
ment's hesitation, the troops plunged across the works, captur
ing guns and men.

Still, the flail of war kept pounding at the Confederate
center. Hour after hour, the Union lines, compact and un
yielding, battered the ranks of the Southern troops. As the
sun set on the evening of that day, the army of Hood found
itself more than two miles from the place it occupied in the
morning.

The new day found the Confederate general still un
daunted. During the night he had formed a new line of battle.
It was shorter, stronger, and more compact than that of the
preceding day. Works had been thrown up in front, while
behind rose a range of hills. These were strongly fortified.
The second position was stronger than the first.

[ 268 ]

NASHVILLE WATCHING THE FIGHT TO A FINISH BETWEEN HOOD AND THOMAS

When Hood attacked Nashville, early in December, 18(54, the Union army, under Thomas, was entrenched in a semi-circle on the
wooded hills about the city, both flanks resting on the Cumberland River. Hundreds of spectators watched the fighting from the
other hills. The picture at the top of this page was taken on the heights to the east, on December 15th. The view at the bottom
was looking northwest. The spectators caught by the alert photographer might not have realized the tremendous significance of
the struggle going on before them, but they could all witness the mathematical precision of Thomas' tactics. The checking of Hood
at Nashville made Sherman's position secure in the heart of the Confederacy.

THE BATTLEFIELD FROM THE MILITARY COLLEGE

-c ••

raukliu at

t5i Nashtriil? * * * •$• *

Dec.
1864

It was past noon before Thomas was ready to repeat the
tactics of the preceding day. On the Confederate right was
Overtoil's Hill, a strongly fortified position. Colonel Post
was designated to lead the Federal attack. Supported by a
brigade of negro troops, the assaulting columns moved up the
steep ascent. With precision the lines marched toward the crest
of the hill. All was well until the final dash was to be made,
when a withering fire drove them back to the foot of the hill.

The extreme Confederate left also rested upon a hill. To
Colonel McMillen was given the task of wresting it from the
possession of the Southern troops. Forming his regiments,—
the One hundred and fourteenth Illinois, the Ninety-third In
diana, the Tenth Minnesota, the Seventy-second Ohio and the
Ninety-fifth Ohio — into two lines, he rapidly moved forward.
The approaching lines of attack were received with a hail of
musketry, and grape and canister from the Confederate artil
lery. But unwaveringly the cheering ranks carried the position.

The success of this charge on the right inspired the left,
and again the attempt to carry Overton's Hill was made, this
time successfully. These successes of the Union lines became
contagious. A general forward movement was made along the
entire front. It was irresistible. No troops could withstand
such an impact. Hood's splendid and courageous army was
routed. From thirty-eight thousand men who entered the fight
it was reduced to a remnant. Flinging aside muskets and
everything that would impede progress, the army that was to
revivify the hopes of the failing Confederacy was fleeing in
utter confusion along the Franklin pike through Brentwood
Pass. This Confederate Army of Tennessee had had a
glorious history. It had fought with honor from Donelson and
Shiloh to Atlanta and Nashville. It had been at Murfrees-
boro, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary
Ridge. Now, shattered and demoralized, it was relentlessly
pursued beyond the Tennessee River, never again to emerge
as a fighting army in the Southwest.

PART IV
FROM WAR TO PEACE

-•

UNION' PICKET NEAR FOKT MA HONE,
THE CONFEDERATE STRONGHOLD

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

It is winter-time before Petersburg. Grant's army, after the assault of October 27th, has settled down to the waiting game that can
have but one result. Look at the veterans in this picture of '64 — not a haggard or hungry face in all this group of a hundred or more.
Warmly clad, well-fed, in the prime of manly vigor, smiling in confidence that the end is almost now in sight, these are the men who
hold the thirty-odd miles of Federal trenches that hem in Lee's ragged army. Outdoor life and constant "roughing it" affects men
variously. There was many a young clerk from the city, slender of limb, lacking in muscle, a man only in the embryo, who finished his
three or five years' term of service with a constitution of iron and sinews like whip-cords. Strange to say, it was the regiments from
up-country and the backwoods, lumbermen and farmers, who after a short time in camp began to show most the effect of hardship

UNION VETERANS OF TRENCH AND FIELD BEFORE PETERSBURG— 1864

and sickness. They had been used to regular hours, meals at certain times, and always the same kind of food — their habits had
been formed, their sleep had not been interfered with; their stomachs, by which they could tell the time of day, rebelled at being
obliged to go empty, their systems had to learn new tricks. But the city recruit, if possessed of no physical ailment or chronic
trouble, seemed to thrive and expand in the open air — he was a healthy exotic that, when transplanted, adapted itself to the new
soil with surprising vigor — being cheated of his sleep, and forced to put up with the irregularities of camp life was not such a shock
for him as for the "to bed with the chickens and up with the lark" countryman. This is no assuming of facts — it is the result of
experience and record. But here are men of city, farm, and backwoods who have become case-hardened to the rugged life.

PE'i SBURG THE BESIEGED CITY

Thus we see Petersburg as,
with a powerful glass, it
might have been seen from
the north bank of the Ap-
pomattox, looking south
over the ruined town in
April, 1865. As the rail
road center south of Rich
mond, it was, at the out
break of the war, one of the
largest cities of Virginia.
It was Grant who first util
ized its importance in lead
ing up to the capture of the
capital. Although all mis
siles apparently evince a

• •

sel ctive intelligence, at
times in any bombardment
there are naturally objects
which give range to the
gunners and become targets
for their aim. Chimneys
and smokestacks, and, alas !
in some cases, steeples,
were picked out between
the sights before the lan
yard was pulled. In Peters
burg the churches suffered
least, but buildings such as
the mill and the gas-house,
with its 80-foot stack, were
crumbled into ruins.

THE RITXED MILL

WHERE THE LIGHT FAILED— GAS WORKS AT PETERSBURG

BOLINGBROKE STREET— HISTORIC HOUSES BOMBARDED

In the houses down this quiet street, liable at any moment to be pierced by shot, as some of these have l>een, the women of Peters
burg, with all the courage the daughters of the South invariably have shown, went bravely about their self-imposed tasks, denying
.hemselves all luxuries and frequently almost the necessities of life, to help feed and take care of the men in the trenches that
'aced the Federal lines. During the siege, from June, 1864, to April, 18C5, led by the wives of some of the officers high in com-
nand, the Petersburg citizens, and the women especially, exhibited high heroism in nursing the wounded and aiding the army. This
street was named after a distinguished Revolutionary family, whose mansion during the Revolution had been seized and made the
leadquarters of Benedict Arnold. Arnold, after his defection from the Continental cause, had been sent into Virginia to destroy
he property of prominent Revolutionists.

A BATTERED RELIC OF COLONIAL DAYS IN PETERSBURG

This beautiful old mansion on lio-
lingbroke Street could look back to
the days of buckles and small
clothes; it wears an aggrieved and
surprised look, as if wondering why
it should have received such buffet-
ings as its pierced walls, its shattered
windows ^and doorway show. Yet
it was more fortunate than some of
its near-by neighbors, which were
never again after the visitation of
the falling shells fit habitations for
mankind. Many of these handsome
residences were utterly destroyed,
their fixtures shattered beyond re
pair; their wainscoting, built when
the Commonwealth of Virginia was

ruled over by the representative of
King George, was torn from the
walls and, bursting into flames, made
a funeral pyre of past comforts and
magnificence. The havoc wrought
upon the dwellings of the town was
heavy; certain localities suffered
more than others, and those resi
dents who seemed to dwell in the
safest zones had been ever ready to
open their houses to the sick and
wounded of Lee's army. As Grant s
troops inarched in, many pale faces
gazed out at them from the win
dows, and at the doorsteps stood
men whose wounds exempted them
from ever bearing arms again.

THE SHATTERED DOORWAY

THE DEMOLISHED DINING-ROOM

OF A
HANDSOME MANSION

HAVOC OF BOMBARDMENT

IN A
PETERSBURG HOME

In tliis room, nearly a hundred years before, the red-coated offieers of His Britannic Majesty's troops had gathered at the long
mahogany table, which, with the glittering sideboards and the old portraits, had furnished the apartment. They were unbidden
guests and were invaders. It was with enforced courtesy that the lady of the house, whose husband and two sons were wearing
the blue and buff of the Continental Army, received them. And now, in 1865, this lady's descendents, the heirs to the old mansion,
have been forced to move by another invasion that brought home to them the stern decrees of war. The two maiden ladies of proud
lineage had been forced in the early stages of the siege to move their belongings to a safer place. The house hail been stripped
of furnishings; against the noble old walls the Federal guns had knocked for admittance, presenting no billet of lodgment with a
sweeping bow, but rudely bursting in. After the war was over, its occupants came back: but still, if you should visit them, they
could point out to you the traces of the siege.

THE SIEGE AND FALL OF
PETERSBURG

It is not improbable that Grant might have made more headway by
leaving a sufficient part of his army in the trenches in front of Petersburg
and by moving with a heavy force far to the west upon Lee's communica
tions; or, if it were determined to capture the place a main forte, by
making a massed attack upon some point in the center after suitable min
ing operations had weakened Lee's defenses and prepared for such an
operation. But the end was to come with opening spring. To the far-
sighted, this was no longer doubtful. The South must succumb to the
greater material resources of the North, despite its courage and its sacri
fices.— C 'oloticl T. A. Dodge, U.S.A., in "A BirtVs-Eije View of Our Civil
War."

URIXG the winter of 1864-65, General Lee, fighting
Grant without, was fighting famine within. The shiv
ering, half-clad soldiers of the South crouched over feeble fires
in their entrenchments. The men were exposed to the rain,
snow, and sleet; sickness and disease soon added their horrors
to the desolation. The finances of the Government were almost
gone. The life of the Confederacy was ebbing fast.

Behind Union breastworks, early in 1865, General Grant
was making preparations for the opening of a determined cam
paign with the coming of spring. Mile after mile had been
added to his entrenchments, and they now extended to
Hatcher's Run on the left. The Confederate lines had been
stretched until they were so thin that there was constant danger
of breaking. A. P. Hill was posted on the right; Gordon and
Anderson held the center, and Longstreet was on the left.
Union troops were mobilizing in front of Petersburg. By
February 1st, Sherman was fairly off from Savannah on his
northward march to join Grant. He was weak in cavalry and

[278]

APPROACHING THE POST OF DANGER— PETERSBURG, 1805

A FEW STEPS NEARER THE PICKET LINE

* v- S
~ ' .

IN BEHIND THE SHELTER

For nine months of '64-'6o the musket-balls sang past these Federal picket posts, in advance of Federal Fort Sedgwick, called by the
Confederates "Fort Hell." Directly opposite was the Confederate Fort Mahone, which the Federals, returning the compliment, had
dubbed "Fort Damnation." Between the two lines, separated by only fifty yards, sallies and counter-sallies were continual occur
rences after dark. In stealthy sorties one side or the other frequently captured the opposing pickets before alarm could be given.
No night was without its special hazard. During the day the pastime here was sharp-shooting with muskets and rifled cannon.

Grant determined to bring Sheridan from the Shenandoah,
whence tlie hulk of Early's forces had been withdrawn, and
send him to assist Sherman. Sheridan left Winchester Febru
ary 27th, wreaking much destruction as he advanced, but cir
cumstances compelled him to seek a new base at White House.
On March 27th he formed a junction with the armies of the
Potomac and the James. Such were the happenings that
prompted Lee to prepare for the evacuation of Petersburg.
And he might be able, in his rapid marches, to outdistance
Grant, join his forces with those of Johnston, fall on Sherman,
destroy one wing of the Union army and arouse the hopes of
his soldiers, and prolong the life of his Government.

General Grant knew the condition of Lee's army and,
with the unerring instinct of a military leader, surmised what
the plan of the Southern general must be. He decided to
move on the left, destroy both the Danville and South Side
railroads, and put his army in better condition to pursue. The
move was ordered for March 29th.

General Lee, in order to get Grant to look another way
for a while, decided to attack Grant's line on the right, and gain
some of the works. This would compel Grant to draw some of
his force from his left and secure a way of escape to the west.
This bold plan was left for execution to the gallant Georgian,
General John B. Gordon, who had successfully led the
reverse attack at Cedar Creek, in the Shenandoah, in Oc
tober, 186-1. Near the crater stood Fort Stedman. Between
it and the Confederate front, a distance of about one hundred
and fifty yards, was a strip of firm earth, in full view of both
picket lines. Across this space some deserters had passed to
the Union entrenchments. General Gordon took advantage
of this fact and accordingly selected his men, who, at the sound
of the signal gun, should disarm the Federal pickets, while fifty
more men were to cross the open space quickly with axes and
cut away the abatis, and three hundred others were to rush
through the opening, and capture the fort and guns.

[2801

//m

, PATRIOT PUS. CO.

SECURITY FROM SURPRISE

THE MOLE-HILL RAMPARTS, NEAR THE CRATER

Those well-made protections of sharpened spikes, as formidable as the pointed spears of a Roman legion, are chwaux-de-frise of the
Confederates before their main works at Petersburg. They were built after European models, the same as employed in the Napo
leonic wars, and were used by both besiegers and besieged along the lines south of the Appomattox. Those shown in this picture
were in front of the entrenchments near Elliott's salient and show how effectually it was protected from any attempt to storm the
•works by rushing tactics on the part of the Federal infantry. Not far from here lies the excavation of the Crater.

At four o'clock on the morning of March 25, 1865, Gor
don had everything in readiness. His chosen band wore white
strips of cloth across the breast, that they might distinguish
each other in the hand-to-hand fight that would doubtless
ensue. Behind these men half of Lee's army was massed to
support the attack. In the silence of the early morning, a gun
shot rang out from the Confederate works. Xot a Federal
picket-shot was heard. The axemen rushed across the open
and soon the thuds of their axes told of the cutting away of
the abatis. The three hundred surged through the entrance,
overpowered the gunners, captured batteries to the right and
to the left, and were in control of the situation. Gordon's corps
of about five thousand was on hand to sustain the attack but
the remaining reserves, through failure of the guides, did not
come, and the general found himself cut off with a rapidly in
creasing army surrounding him.

Fort Haskell, on the left, began to throw its shells. Under
its cover, heavy columns of Federals sent by General Parke,
now commanding the Ninth Corps, pressed forward. The
Confederates resisted the charge, and from the captured Fort
Stedman and the adjoining batteries poured volley after vol
ley on Willcox's advancing lines of blue. The Northerners fell
back, only to re-form and renew the attack. This time they
secured a footing, and for twenty minutes the fighting was ter
rific. Again they were repulsed. Then across the brow of the
hill swept the command of Hartranft. The blue masses lit
erally poured onto the field. The furious musketry, and ar
tillery directed by General Tidball, shrivelled up the ranks of
Gordon until they fled from the fort and its neighboring bat
teries in the midst of withering fire, and those who did not
were captured. This was the last aggressive effort of the ex
piring Confederacy in front of Petersburg, and it cost three
thousand men. The Federal loss was not half that number.

The affair at Fort Stedman did not turn Grant from his
plans against the Confederate right. With the railroads here

[282]

PRAYERS FOR RELIEF AND PRAYERS
FOR VICTORY

This church at Petersburg stood near the to
bacco warehouses shown in the lower picture,
and here the Federal prisoners confined in the
old brick building were praying for victory as
they listened to the boom of cannon and the
rattle of musketry through the terrible winter
of '(i-t and '65. Hut every Sunday, in this
church, prayers to the God of Battles for relief
from the invader were raised in fervent zeal of
spirit. In all the camps, and in all the cities of
the North and South, throughout the war, each
side, believing firmly in the justice of its cause,
had regularly and earnestly thus appealed to the
Almighty for the triumph of its arms.

In the Southern army in particular, religious
fervor was high. During the previous winter,
while Lee's troops were encamped on the Ra pi-
dan, revivals had swept nearly every soldier into
the church. General Gordon says that "not
only on the Sabbath day, but during the week,
night after night, for long periods these services
continued, increasing in attendance and interest
until they brought under religious influence the

WHERE PRAYER ROSE FOR THE WANING CAUSE

WHERE PRISONERS PRAYED FOR LIBERTY

great body of the army. Along the mountain
sides and in the forest, where the Southern camps
were pitched, the rocks and woods rang with
appeals for holiness and consecration, with
praises for past mercies and earnest prayers for
future protection and deliverance. Thousands,
of these brave followers of Southern banners,
became consistent and devoted soldiers of the
Cross." And the same officer recalls that during
the siege of Petersburg, especially after the at
tack on Fort Stedman, religious devotion was
uncooled. "From the commander-in-chief to
the privates in the ranks, there was a deep and
sincere religious feeling in Lee's army. When
ever it was convenient or practicable, these
hungry but unyielding men were holding prayer-
meetings. Their supplications were fervent and
often inspiring."

On the memorable 2d of April, in the Rich
mond church in which he had been baptized and
confirmed scarcely three years before, President
Jefferson Davis received the ominous tidings sent
by Lee to the capital of the Confederacy that
both Petersburg and Richmond would have to
be evacuated before the morning of April 4th.
There followed a night of terror.

destroyed, Richmond would be completely cut off. On the
morning of the 29th, as previously arranged, the movement
began. Sheridan swept to the south with his cavalry, as if he
were to fall upon the railroads. ' General Warren, with fifteen
thousand men, was working his way through the tangled woods
and low swamps in the direction of Lee's right. At the same
time, Lee stripped his entrenchments at Petersburg as much as
he dared and hurried General Anderson, with infantry, and
Fitzhugh Lee, with cavalry, forward to hold the roads over
which he hoped to escape. On Friday morning, March 31st,
the opposing forces, the Confederates much reenforced, found
themselves at Dinwiddie Court House. The woods and swamps
prevented the formation of a regular 4ine of battle. Lee made
his accustomed flank movement, with heavy loss to the Federals
as they tried to move in the swampy forests. The Northerners
finally were ready to advance when it was found that Lee had
fallen back. During the day and night, reenforcements were
coming in from all sides. The Confederates had taken their
position at Five Forks.

Early the next afternoon, the 1st of April, Sheridan, re-
enforced by Warren, was arranging his troops for battle. The
day was nearly spent when all was in readiness. The sun was
not more than two hours high when the Northern army moved
toward that of the South, defended by a breastwork behind a
dense undergrowth of pines. Through this mass of timber
the Federals crept with bayonets fixed. They charged upon
the Confederates, but, at the same time, a galling fire poured
into them from the left, spreading dismay and destruction in
their midst. The intrepid Sheridan urged his black battle-
charger, the famous Rienzi, now known as Winchester, up and
down the lines, cheering his men on in the fight. He seemed
to be everywhere at once. The Confederate left was streaming
down the White Oak Road. But General Crawford had
reached a cross-road, by taking a circuitous route, and the
Southern army was thus shut off from retreat. The Federal

[ 284 ]

[Concluded on paye 294]

Tu this gallant young Georgia officer,
just turned thirty-three at the time,
Lee entrusted the last desperate effort
to break through the tightening Fed
eral lines, March &3, 18(5.3. Lee was
confronted by the dilemma of either
being starved out of Petersburg and
Richmond, or of getting out himself
and uniting his army to that of John
ston in North Carolina, to crush Sher
man before Grant could reach him.
Gordon was to begin this latter,
almost impossible, task by an attack
on Fort Stedman, which the Confed
erates believed to be the weakest point
in the Federal fortifications. The
position had been captured from them
in the beginning, and they knew that
the nature of the ground and its near
ness to their own lines had made it
difficult to strengthen it very much.
It was planned to surprise the fort before
daylight. Below are seen the rabbit-
like burrows of Gracie's Salient, past
which Gordon led his famished men.
When the order came to go forward,
they did not flinch, but hurled them-

GENERAL JOHN B. GORDON,
C. S. A.

selves bravely against fortifications far stronger than their own.
Three columns of a hundred picked men each moved down the
slope shown on the left and advanced in the darkness against

Stedman. They were to be followed
by a division. Through the gap
which the storming parties were
expected to open in the Federal lines,
Gordon's columns would rush in both
directions and a cavalry force was to
sweep on and destroy the pontoon
bridges across the Appomattox and to
raid City Point, breaking up the Fed
eral base. It was no light task, for
although Fort Stedman itself was
weak, it was flanked by Battery No.
10 on the right and by Battery No. 1 1
on the left. An attacking party on the
right would be exposed to an enfilad
ing fire in crossing the plain; while on
the left the approach was difficult be
cause of ravines, one of which the Con
federate engineers had turned into a
pond by damming a creek. All night
long General Gordon's wife, with the
brave women of Petersburg, sat up
tearing strips of white cloth, to be tied
on the arms of the men in the storming
parties so that they could tell friend
from foe in the darkness and confusion
of the assault. Before the sleep-dazed
Federals could offer effective resistance, Gordon's men had pos
session of the fort and the batteries. Only after one of the sever
est engagements of the siege were the Confederates driven back.

GRACIE'S SALIENT — AFTER GORDON'S FORLORN HOPE HAD CHARGED

PRISONERS TO PHIL SHERIDAN

This group of the five thousand Confederate prisoners captured March 31st is eloquent of the tragedy in progress. Dire was the
extremity of the Confederate cause in March, 1865. The words of the gallant leader in the last desperate and forlorn hope that
charged Fort Stedman, General Gordon, give a pen-picture of the condition of the Southern fighting men: "Starvation, literal starva
tion, was doing its deadly work. So depleted and poisoned was the blood of many of Lee's men from insufficient and unsound food
that a slight wound, which would probably not have been reported at the beginning of the war, would often cause blood-poison,
gangrene and death, yet the spirits of these brave men seemed to rise as their condition grew more desperate." But not only was
it physical ailments and consequent inability to fight their best which brought about the downfall, it was numbers, the overwhelming
numbers that were opposed against them. In an interview with General Gordon, Lee laid before him his reports, which showed how
completely he understood the situation. Of his own fifty thousand men but thirty-five thousand were fit for duty. Lee s estimate

FULL RATIONS AT LAST

>f the forces of Grant was between one hundred and forty thousand and one hundred and fifty thousand. Coming up from Knox-
•ille was Schofield with an estimated force of thirty thousand superb troops. From the valley Grant was bringing up nearly twenty
housand more, against whom, as Lee expressed it, lie "could oppose scarcely a vidette." Sherman was approaching from North
Carolina, and his force when united with Scofield's would reach eighty thousand. It was impossible, and yet it was after this, that
ordon made his charge. South of Hatcher's Run, at the very westernmost part of the Confederate entrenchments, Sheridan fell
ipon the Confederate flank. It was a complete victory. With General Merritt and General Griffin sweeping in, the cavalry charged
he works and five thousand Confederates were taken prisoners, besides those killed and wounded. The Federal loss was less than
even hundred. This was the last day of March. Lined up here we see some of these captured thousands about to receive their
irst square meal in many months.

APRIL SECOND— WHERE LEE WATCHED

From this mound General Lee watched the final Federal attaek begin near Hatcher's Run on the morning of April -2, 1863. It was
a serious party of officers that gathered in this battery on the inner line of Confederate fortifications before Petersburg. On the
preceding days at Hatcher's Run, and again at Five Forks, Lee had attempted to break through the besiegers, but the efforts were
futile, and no sooner had they ceased than the Federal army began to gather itself for the last grapple. All night of April 1st, till
four in the morning, the Federal artillery had kept up a terrific bombardment along the whole line, and at daybreak Lee saw the
Sixth Corps advancing to the assault. As they broke through the Confederate lines and wheeled to attack Fort Gregg, Lee called
his staff about him, telling them to witness a most gallant defense. A moment later they saw the Stars and Stripes unfurled over the
parapet. The depleted and worn-out Confederates had spent themselves to the last gasp. Not even Lee's veterans could fight
starvation and overwhelming numbers at once. "This is a sad business!" were Lee's words as he turned to his staff. Couriers
were bringing in reports of disasters all along his lines, and he gave the orders necessary for the holding of such of the interior defenses
as would enable the Army of Northern Virginia to abandon Petersburg and Richmond.

AI'HIL SECOND--THIS IS A SAD BUSINESS

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FRESH AMMUNITION IN THE PATH OF THE CHARGE

A veritable battle-photograph, in the fresh path of the charge within the Confederate works that had so long held the Federals back.
This picture was taken very shortly after the rattle of their muskets had rung the knell of Petersburg. Beyond the parapet are the
Federal lines and the intervening plain over which the men came at the double-quick that morning. Some regiment has halted here
to replenish its ammunition. Boxes of cartridges have been hurried up and impatiently broken open. There was no time for the
eager men to fill pouches and belts. Grabbing handfuls of the cartridges, they have thrust them into their pockets or the breasts
of their jackets. Then, leaving many of the boxes but half emptied, they pressed on, loading as they ran. The picture is an eloquent
bit of still life; even the belts and cartridge-pouches cast away in impatience tell of the hurry and heat of battle.

It was the grand old Sixth Corps that crowned
its splendid record on April I2d in the last great
charge of the war upon an entrenched position.
Silently the troops had been brought out on the
night of the 1st and placed in position just ill
the rear of their own picket line. The dark
ness hid the intended movement even from the
watchful eyes of the Confederate pickets. Or
ders for the strictest silence had been imposed
upon each man. Hut suddenly the pickets
broke out firing, and it was only with great ex
ertions that the officers quieted the Federal
outposts. The men in the columns had main
tained their positions without a sound — not a
shot fired, not a word uttered. At half-past
four in the early morning a signal gun from
Fort Fisher boomed and flashed through the
early light. Rushing forward, breaking the Con
federate line of outposts, down streamed the
blue masses upon the main line of the defenses.
Into their faces the men in gray poured deadly
volleys from behind the earthworks and lines of
spiked abatis. The latter were rolled aside,
carried by main force and tossed into the
ditches. General Wright, in command of this

AFTER THE LAST GRE

ABATIS AND DEFENDER IX THE DITCH

body of men, knew from the shouts even before
he saw the flag upon the breastworks that the
wedge had been driven home. Leaving Ix-hind
their own dead and wounded lying mingled with
the bodies of the brave defenders, without wait
ing for orders, men from each division of the
Sixth Corps pressed ahead, broke up the South
Side Railroad and cut the telegraph wires. When
the officers had at length calmed the ardor of
their troops and re-formed the lines, a large part
of the corps wheeled to the left and dashed along
the Confederate entrenchments, soon overcame
all resistance and swept victoriously forward as
far as Hatcher's Run, capturing artillery and a
large number of prisoners. There they were
again re-formed, marched bark to the original
point of attack, and thence pushed forward in
conjunction with the Twenty-fourth Corps to
complete the investment of Petersburg. In this
advance some Confederate batteries, very dash
ingly handled, inflicted considerable loss until
they were driven behind the inner lines of en
trenchment, when the Vnion troops were halted
with their left resting on the Appomattox. Peters
burg had fallen . The end was only a week away.

cavalry had dismounted and was doing its full share of work.
The Confederates soon found themselves trapped, and the part
of their army in action that day was nearly annihilated. About
five thousand prisoners were taken.

With night came the news of the crushing blow to Lee.
General Grant was seated by his camp-fire surrounded by his
staff, when a courier dashed into his presence with the message
of victory. Soon from every great gun along the Union line
belched forth the sheets of flame. The earth shook with the
awful cannonade. Mortar shells made huge parabolas through
the air. The Union batteries crept closer and closer to the
Confederate lines and the balls crashed into the streets of the
doomed city. The bombardment of Petersburg was on.

At dawn of the 2nd of April the grand assault began.
The Federal troops sprang forward with a rush. Despite the
storms of grape and canister, the Sixth Corps plunged through
the battery smoke, and across the walls, pushing the brave de
fenders to the inner works. The whole corps penetrated the
lines and swept everything before it toward Hatcher's Run.
Some of the troops even reached the South Side Railroad,
where the brave General A. P. Hill fell mortally wounded.

Everywhere, the blue masses poured into the works. Gen
eral Orel, on the right of the Sixth Corps, helped to shut the
Confederate right into the city. General Parke, with the Ninth
Corps, carried the main line. The thin gray line could no
longer stem the tide that was engulfing it. The Confederate
troops south of Hatcher's Run fled to the west, and fought
General Miles until General Sheridan and a division from
Meade appeared on the scene. By noon the Federals held
the line of the outer works from Fort Gregg to the Ap-
pomattox. The last stronghold carried was Fort Gregg, at
which the men of Gibbon's corps had one of the most desperate
struggles of the war. The Confederates now fell back to the
inner fortifications and the siege of Petersburg came to an end.

PART IV
FROM WAR TO PEACE

APPOMATTOX

.
""•"A-.

Sfce&teSir •- '

IX THE WAKE OF LEE'S RETREAT

THE RUINS OF RAILROAD

BRIDGE AT PETERSBURG

APRIL, 18(55

The scene that met the eyes of the Union cavalry on April 3d. The ashes of a bridge, locomotive, train
and all, as they had fallen the day before on the gravelly shore of the Appotomax. When the lines south
east and west of the city were captured on April L2d, Lee had seen that retreat was the only resource left.
His haggard but undaunted veterans began this final movement at eight o'clock in the evening, passing
to the north side of the Appomattox by the pontoon, Pocahontas and " railroad " bridges. These were
given to the flames immediately after crossing, in order to hinder the pursuit. Though there were in the
fields of Mississippi and Alabama supplies enough to feed Lee's army for a whole year, flic means of trans
portation was so poor that all through the winter they had suffered from hunger. Now the only avenue
of supply that had remained in their control was seized by the Union armies. The possibility of joining
with Johnston's forces, or of making a last stand where the pursuer should put himself at a disadvantage,
was the hope which sustained the famished heroes in gray as they left behind them the burning bridge.

THE CAPITAL OF THE CONFEDERACY FALLEN

The ruins of the armory in the foreground, the pillars of the Petersburg and Richmond Railroad bridge aeross the James, a few houses
in Manchester beyond the stream — this picture of desolation revives the scenes of wild commotion in Richmond on the 2d and 3d
of April, 1865. On the 2d, a quiet Sunday, Jefferson Davis, at morning service in St. Paul's Church, received ii despatch from Gen
eral Lee, announcing the imminent fall of Petersburg and the necessity of retreating that night. Mr. Davis left his seat calmly; but
by half-past eleven a strange agitation began to appear in the streets, and by noon the worst was known. A hubbub of excitement,
the rumbling of trains and rattling of wagons filled the afternoon. By sunset bands of ruffians made their appearance on the prin-

THE DESERT AND THE WASTE PLACES IN RICHMOND, APRIL, 18(55

cipal streets. That night was full of the pandemonium of flight. Orders for the burning of the arsenals and all public buildings
were issued before the officers of government left the city. To prevent drunkenness the alcoholic liquor was emptied into the gut
ters. The explosion of the magazines threw high into the air burning fragments which fell upon the adjacent buildings in Richmond
and even across the river in Manchester. The hundreds of blazing piles lighted up the river with the brightness of day as it rushed
sparkling beneath the high-arched bridges past the flaming cities. At early dawn, amid the roar of the explosions and of the falling
buildings, the clatter of Tnion cavalry was heard in the streets. The capital of the Confederacy had fallen.

APPOMATTOX

I now come to what I have always regarded — shall ever regard — as
the most creditable episode in all American history — an episode without
a blemish, imposing, dignified, simple, heroic. I refer to Appomattox.
Two men met that day, representative of American civilization, the whole
world looking on. The two were Grant and Lee — types each. Both
rose, and rose unconsciously, to the full height of the occasion — and than
that occasion there has been none greater. About it, and them, there
was no theatrical display, no self-consciousness, no effort at effect. A
great crisis was to be met ; and they met that crisis as great countrymen
should. Consider the possibilities ; think for a moment of what that day
might have been ; you will then see cause to thank God for much. —
General diaries Francis Adams, U.S. V., in Phi Beta Kappa Address de
livered at the University of Chicago, June 17, 1902.

WE are now to witness the closing scene of one of the
greatest tragedies ever enacted on the world's stage.
Many and varied had been the scenes during the war; the actors
and their parts had been real. The wounds of the South were
bleeding; the North was awaiting the decisive blow. Thousands
of homes were ruined. Fortunes, great and small, had melted
away by the hundreds of millions. In Richmond, the citadel of
the waning Confederacy, the people were starving. The
Southern army, half clad and without food, was but a shadow
of its once proud self. Bravely and long the men in gray
had followed their adored leader. Now the limit of endurance
had been reached.

It was the second day of April, 1865. Lee realized that
after Petersburg his beloved Richmond must fall. The order
was given for the movement to begin at eight o'clock that
night. The darkness of the early morning of the 3d was
suddenly transformed into a lurid light overcasting the heavens

[ 300 ]

/'/.W

T\VKLVK HWRS AFTER, AT THE PETERSBIRG ( ()t HTIIOISE

The night of April "2(1 was a tense one for the Federal troops in the trenches. The brigade of Colonel Ralph Ely was to charge
at four o'clock in the morning, but at half-past two he learned that only the Confederate picket-lines remained. His command
was formed for attack and advanced quickly across the opposing works. It then re-formed and pushed into the town, arriving at
the courthouse shortly after four o'clock. At 4. "28 A.M. the flag of the First Michigan Sharpshooters was floating from the staff.
Major Lounsberry, in command of the detachment, was met in front of the courthouse by three citizens with a flag of truce, who
surrendered the town in the name of the mayor and common council. The committee were assured of the safety of private prop
erty, and, according to the report of the mayor, so long as the brigade was in the city "the conduct of both officers and men was
such as to reflect [honor] on our cause and cast a luster of glory over the profession of arms." This is one of the series of photo
graphs taken April 3d by the enterprising artist with the Federal army; and the clock-face in the courthouse tower shows that the
picture was made at ten minutes of four that afternoon.

for miles around the famous city whose name had become a
household word over the civilized world. Richmond was in
flames! The capital of the Confederacy, the pride of the South,
toward which the Army of the Potomac had fought its way,
leaving a trail of blood for four weary years, had at last suc
cumbed to the overwhelming power of Grant's indomitable
armies.

President Davis had received a despatch while attending
services at St. Paul's church, Sunday morning, the 2d, advis
ing him that the city must be evacuated that night, and, leaving
the church at once, lie hastened the preparations for flight with
his personal papers and the archives of the Confederate Gov
ernment. During that Sabbath day and night Richmond was
in a state of riot. There had been an unwarranted feeling of
security in the city, and the unwelcome news, spreading like
an electric flash, was paralyzing and disastrous in its effect.
Prisoners were released from their toils, a lawless mob overran
the thoroughfares, and civic government was nullified. One
explosion after another, on the morning of the 3d, rent the
air with deafening roar, as the magazines took fire. The scene
was one of terror and grandeur.

The flames spread to the city from the ships, bridges, and
arsenal, which had been set on fire, and hundreds of buildings,
including the best residential section of the capital of the Con
federacy, were destroyed.

When the Union army entered the city in the morning,
thousands of the inhabitants, men, women, and children, were
gathered at street corners and in the parks, in wildest confu
sion. The commissary depot had been broken open by the
starving mob, and rifled of its contents, until the place was
reached by the spreading flames. The Federal soldiers stacked
arms, and heroically battled with the fire, drafting into the
work all able-bodied men found in the city. The invaders ex
tinguished the flames, and soon restored the city to a state of
order and safety. The invalid wife of General Lee, who was

[ 302 ]

IN PETERSBURG— AFTER NINE MONTHS OF BATTERING

This fine mansion on Bolingbroke Street, the residential section of Petersburg, has now, on the :?d of April, fallen into the hands of
straggling Union soldiers. Its windows have long since been shattered by shells from distant Federal mortars; one has even burst
through the wall. But it was not till the night of April 2d, when the retreat of the Confederate forces started, that the citizens be
gan to leave their homes. At !) o'clock in the morning General Grant, surrounded by his staff, rode quietly into the city. The streets
were deserted. At length they arrived at a comfortable home standing back in a yard. There he dismounted and sat for a while on
the piazza. Soon a group of curious citizens gathered on the sidewalk to gaze at the commander of the Yankee armies. But the
Union troops did not remain long in the deserted homes. Sheridan was already in pursuit south of the Appomattox, and (irant, after
a short conference with Lincoln, rode to the west in the rear of the hastily marching troops. Bolingbrokc Street and Petersburg soon
returned to the ordinary occupations of peace in an effort to repair the ravages of the historic nine months' siege.

exposed to danger, was furnished with an ambulance and cor
poral's guard until the danger was past.

President Lincoln, who had visited Grant at Petersburg,
entered Richmond on the 4th of April. He visited President
Davis' house, and Libby Prison, then deserted, and held a con
ference with prominent citizens and army officers of the Con
federacy. The President seemed deeply concerned and
weighted down with the realization of the great responsibilities
that would fall upon him after the war. Only ten days later
the nation was shaken from ocean to ocean by the tragic news
of his assassination.

General Lee had started on his last march by eight o'clock
on the night of the 2d. By midnight the evacuation of both
Petersburg and Richmond was completed. For nine months
the invincible forces of Lee had kept a foe of more than twice
their numerical strength from invading their stronghold, and
only after a long and harassing siege were they forced to re
treat. They saw the burning city as their line of march was
illuminated by the conflagration, and emotions too deep for
words overcame them. The woods and fields, in their fresh,
bright colors of spring, were in sharp contrast to the travel-
worn, weather-beaten, ragged veterans passing over the verdant
plain. Lee hastened the march of his troops to Amelia Court
House, where he had ordered supplies, but by mistake the train
of supplies had been sent on to Richmond. This was a crushing
blow to the hungry men, who had been stimulated on their
tiresome march by the anticipation of much-needed food. The
fatality of war was now hovering over them like a huge black
specter.

General Grant did not proceed to Richmond, but leaving
General Weitzel to invest the city, he hastened in pursuit of
Lee to intercept the retreating army. This pursuit was started
early on the 3d. On the evening of that date there was some
firing between the pursuing army and Lee's rear guard. It
was Lee's design to concentrate his force at Amelia Court

[ 304 ]

-£jsi

SUPPORTING THE PURSUIT OF LEE'S ARMY

A Federal wagon-train moves out of Petersburg to feed the troops pursuing Lee, in those early April days of '6.5. The Army of Northern
Virginia has taken no supply trains on its hurried departure from Petersburg and Richmond. It depends on forage. Within the next
week Grant's troops are to be brought almost to a like pass. If the surrender had not come when it did, the pursuit would have been
brought to a stop for the time being by laek of subsistence. The South Side Railroad, which crossed Indian Town Creek on the trestle
shown in the smaller picture, was the only railroad line in the possession of the Confederates at the end of the siege of Petersburg.
It was their only avenue of supplies, but Sheridan's victory at Five Forks made it possible to cut the line. Lee was thus compelled
to evacuate both Richmond and Petersburg. The bridge is to the west of Petersburg on the main line of the railroad.

THE LAST RAILROAD INTO PETERSBURG

House, but this was not to be accomplished by the night ,'L tlio
4th. Xot until the 5th was the whole army up, and ti -vi it
was discovered that no adequate supplies were within less *ian
fifty miles. Subsistence r aild be obtained only by fora; !ng
parties. Xo word of c ^ .....m : from the suffering men reai ed
their commander, and on the evening of that disappointing 'W
they patiently and silently began the sad march anew. T, "i?
course was through unfavorable territory and necessarily slow.
The Federals were gaining upon their retreating columns.
Sheridan's cavalry had reached their flank, and on the 6th there
was heavy skirmishing. In the afternoon the Federals had ar
rived in force sufficient to bring on an engagement with E well's
corps in the rear, at Sailor's Creek, a tributary of the Appomat-
tox River. Ewell was surrounded by the Federals and the
entire corps captured. General Anderson, commanding the
divisions of Pickett and Johnson, was attacked and fought
bravely, losing many men. In all about six thousand Confed
erate soldiers were left in the hands of the pursuing army.

On the night of the 6th, the remainder of the Confederate
army continued the retreat and arrived at Farmville, where
the men received two days' rations, the first food except raw or
parched corn that had been given them for two days. Again
the tedious journey wras resumed, in the hope of breaking
through the rapidly-enmeshing net and forming a junction
with Johnston at Danville, or of gaining the protected region
of the mountains near Lynchburg. But the progress of the
weak and weary marchers was slow and the Federal cavalry
had swept around to Lee's front, and a halt was necessary to
check the pursuing Federals. On the evening of the 8th, Lee
reached Appomattox Court House. Here ended the last
march of the Army of Xorthern Virginia.

General Lee and his officers held a council of war on the
night of the 8th and it was decided to make an effort to cut their
way through the Union lines on the morning of the next day.
On the 7th while at Farmville, on the south side of the

WAITING TO PRESS THE ADVANTAGE

This is a scene near the railroad station on April 3, 18G5. Muskets of the Federal troops are stacked in the foreground. Evidences
of the long bombardment appear in the picture. The foot-bridge shown in the smaller picture is at the point where the old river road
crossed the run west of Old Town Creek. In the distance can be seen the trestle of the South Side Railroad. This bridge shook under
the hurrying feet of M cade's heavy advancing column, as the pursuit of Lee was pressed.

ON THE LINE OF PI RSIIT

•

Appomattox River, Grant sent to Lee a courteous request for
the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, based on the
hopelessness of further resistance on the part of that army.
In reply, Lee expressed sympathy with Grant's desire to avoid
useless effusion of blood and asked the terms of surrender.

The next morning General Grant replied to Lee, urging
that a meeting be designated by Lee, and specifying the terms
of surrender, to which Lee replied promptly, rejecting those
terms, which were, that the Confederates lay down their arms,
and the men and officers be disqualified for taking up arms
against the Government of the United States until properly
exchanged. When Grant read Lee's letter he shook his head
in disappointment and said, " It looks as if Lee still means
to fight; I will reply in the morning."

On the 9th Grant addressed another communication to
Lee, repeating the terms of surrender, and closed by saying,
' The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood.
By the South laying down their arms they will hasten that
most desirable event, save thousands of human lives, and hun
dreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Sincerely
hoping that all our difficulties may be settled without the loss of
another life, 1 subscribe myself, etc."

There remained for Lee the bare possibility, by desperate
fighting, of breaking through the Federal lines in his rear. To
Gordon's corps was assigned the task of advancing on Sheri
dan's strongly supported front. Since Pickett's charge at Get
tysburg there had been no more hopeless movement in the
annals of the war. It was not merely that Gordon was over
whelmingly outnumbered by the opposing forces, but his hun
ger-enfeebled soldiers, even if successful in the first onslaught,
could count on no effective support, for Longstreet's corps was
in even Avorse condition than his own. Nevertheless, on the
morning of Sunday, the 9th, the attempt was made. Gordon
was fighting his corps, as he said, " to a frazzle," when Lee
came at last to a realizing sense of the futility of it all and

[308]

April
1865

THE FRESHET THAT DELAYED GRANT'S PURSUIT

The roads loading west from Petersburg crossed and reorossed the Appomattox and its tributaries. The spring floods impeded, though
they did not actually check. Grant's impetuous pursuit of Lee. By the time Lee had reached Amelia Court House (April 5th), Grant's
van was at Jetersville. Lee halted to bring up provisions: as he said in his official report, the ensuing delay proved fatal to his plans.
The provisions that he expected to find at Amelia Court House were captured by the Federals.

THE FLOODED APPOMATTOX

V~\

ordered a truce. A meeting with Grant was soon arranged
on the basis of the letters already exchanged. The conference
of the two world-famous commanders took place at Appomat-
tox, a small settlement with only one street, hut to he made
historic by this meeting. Lee was awaiting Grant's arrival at
the house of Wilmer McLean. It was here, surrounded by
staff-officers, that the terms were written by Grant for the final
surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The terms, and
their acceptance, were embodied in the following letters, writ
ten and signed in the famous " brick house " on that memorable
Sunday :

APPOMATTOX COURT HOTSK, VIRGINIA,

APRIL 9, 1865.

GENERAL: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of
the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of
Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit : Rolls of all the officers
and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer to
be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers
as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not
to take up arms against the Government of the United States until
properly exchanged ; and each company or regimental commander to
sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery,
and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the
officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the
side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This
done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to
be disturbed by the United States authority so long as they observe
their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.

U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
General R. E. Lee.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

APRIL 9, 1865.

GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date containing the
terms of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia as proposed
by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your

[310]

THE LANDMARK OF THE CONFEDERATES' LAST STAND

Tlu- Union army, after the fall of Petersburg, followed the streaming Confederates, retreating westward, and came upon a part of
Gordon's troops near High Bridge over the Appomattox, where the South Side Railroad crosses the river on piers GO feet high. Han
cock's (Second) Corps arrived on the south bank just after the Confederates had blown up the redoubt that formed the bridge head,
and set fire to the bridge itself. The bridge was saved with the loss of four spans at the north end, by Colonel Livermore, whose party
put out the fire while Confederate skirmishers were fighting tinder their feet. A wagon bridge beside it was saved by the men of Bar
low's division. Mahone's division of the Confederate army was drawn up on a hill, north of the river behind redoubts; but when
I'nion troops appeared in force the Confederates again retreated westward along the river.

HIGH BRIDGE

letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate
the proper officers to carry the stipulation into effect.

R. E. LEE, General.
Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant.

When Federal officers were seen galloping toward the
Union lines from Appomattox Court House it was quickly
surmised that Lee had surrendered. Cheer after cheer was sent
up by the long lines throughout their entire length; caps and
tattered colors were waved in the air. Officers and men alike
joined in the enthusiastic outburst. It was glad tidings,
indeed, to these men, who had fought and hoped and suffered
through the long bloody years.

When Grant returned to his headquarters and heard
salutes being fired he ordered it stopped at once, saying, " The
war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again; and the best
sign of rejoicing after the victory will be to abstain from all
demonstration in the field."

Details of the surrender were arranged on the next day
by staff -officers of the respective armies. The parole officers
wrere instructed by General Grant to permit the Confederate
soldiers to retain their own horses — a concession that was most
welcome to many of the men, who had with them animals
brought from the home farm early in the war.

There were only twenty-eight thousand men to be paroled,
and of these fewer than one-third were actually bearing arms
on the day of the surrender. The Confederate losses of the last
ten days of fighting probably exceeded ten thousand.

The Confederate supplies had been captured by Sheridan,
and Lee's army was almost at the point of starvation. An
order from Grant caused the rations of the Federal soldiers
to be shared with the " Johnnies," and the victorious " Yanks "
were only too glad to tender such hospitality as was within
their power. These acts of kindness wrere slight in themselves,
but they helped immeasurably to restore good feeling and to

[312]

April
1865

AITOMATTOX STATION— LEE'S LAST ATTEMPT TO PROVISION HIS RETREATING ARMY

At this railroad point, three miles from the Court House, a Confederate provision train arrived on the morning of April 8th. The sup
plies were being loaded into wagons and ambulances by a detail of about four thousand men, many of them unarmed, when suddenly
a body of Federal cavalry charged upon them, having reached the spot by a by-road leading from the Red House. After a few shots
the Confederates fled in confusion. The cavalry drove them on in the direction of Appomattox Court House, capturing many prison
ers, twenty-five pieces of artillery, a hospital train, and a large park of wagons. This was Lee's last effort to obtain food for his army.

FEDERAL SOLDIERS WHO PERFORMED ONE OF THE LAST DUTIES AT APPOMATTOX

A detail of the Twenty-sixth Michigan handed out paroles to the surrendered Confederates.

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associate for all time with Appomattox the memory of reunion
rather than of strife. The things that were done there can
never be the cause of shame to any American. The noble and
dignified bearing of the commanders was an example to their
armies and to the world that quickly had its effect in the gen
uine reconciliation that followed.

The scene between Lee and his devoted army was pro
foundly touching. General Long in his " Memoirs of Lee "
says: "It is impossible to describe the anguish of the troops
when it wras known that the surrender of the army was inevita
ble. Of all their trials, this was the greatest and hardest to
endure." As Lee rode along the lines of the tried and faithful
men who had been with him at the Wilderness, at Spotsyl-
vania, and at Cold Harbor, it was not strange that those
ragged, weather-beaten heroes were moved by dee}) emotion
and that tears streamed down their bronzed and scarred faces.
Their general in broken accents admonished them to go to their
homes and be as brave citizens as they had been soldiers.

Thus ended the greatest civil war in history, for soon after
the fall of the Confederate capital and the surrender of Lee's
army, there followed in quick succession the surrender of all
the remaining Southern forces.

While these stirring events were taking place in Virginia,
Sherman, who had swept up through the Carolinas with the
same dramatic brilliancy that marked his march to the sea, ac
complishing most effective work against Johnston, was at
Goldsboro. When Johnston learned of the fall of Rich
mond and Lee's surrender he knew the end had come and
he soon arranged for the surrender of his army on the terms
agreed upon at Appomattox. In the first week of May
General " Dick " Taylor surrendered his command near Mo
bile, and on the 10th of the same month, President Jefferson
Davis, who had been for nearly six weeks a fugitive, was over
taken and made a prisoner near Irwinsville, Georgia. The
Southern Confederacy was a thing of the past.

[31G]1

April
1805

PART V

MAY 1804— MAY 1805

THE END

RUINS OF THE RICHMOND ARSENAL,
APRIL 1865

ENGAGEMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR

WITH LOSSES ON HOTH SIDES
MAY, 1864— J rxi:, 1805

CHRONOLOGICAL summary and record of historical events, and of
important engagements between the Union and the Confederate
armies, in the Civil War in the United States, showing troops participating,
losses and casualties, collated and compiled by George L. Kilmer from the
official records of the Union and Confederate armies filed in the United
States War Department. Minor engagements are omitted; also some con
cerning which statistics, especially Confederate, are not available.

MAY, 1864.

1 to 8. — Hudnot's Plantation, and near Al
exandria, La. Union, Lee's Cav. Divi
sion of Gen. Banks' army ; Confed.,
Troops of Gen. Richard Taylor's com
mand. Losses: Union, 33 killed, 87
wounded; Confed., 25 killed, 100
wounded.

4 to 21. — Ya/oo City expedition, including

Benton and Vaughan, Miss. Union,
llth, 72d, and 76th 111., 5th 111. Cav.,
3d U. S. Colored Cav., 7th Ohio Bat
tery; Confed., Troops of Gen. Jos. E.
Johnston's command. Losses: Union, 5
killed, 20 wounded.

5 to 17. — Kautz's Cavalry Raid from Suf

folk to City Point, Va. Union, 5th and
llth Pa. Cav., 3d N. Y. Cav., 1st D. C.
Cav., 1 section 1th Wis. Battery; Con-
fed., Holcombe Legion, detachment 59th
Va. and Home Guards. Losses : Union,
11 killed, 60 wounded, 27 missing; Con-
fed., 180 (about) wounded and cap
tured.

5. — Roanoke River, X. C. Union, gunboats,
Ceres, Commodore Hull, Mattabesett,
Sassaeus, Seymour, Wyalusing, Miama,
and Whitehead; Confed., iron-clad ram
Alb e marie. Losses: Union, 5 killed, 26
wounded; Confed., 57 captured.
— Dunn's Bayou, Red River, La. Union,
56th Ohio, gunboats Signal, Covington,
and transport Warner; Confed., Gen.
Richard Taylor's command on shore.

Losses: Union, 35 killed, 65 wounded,
150 missing; Confed.*

5 to 7. — Wilderness, Va. Union, Forces com
manded by Gen. U. S. Grant ; Army of
the Potomac, Maj.-Gen. George G.
Meade; Second Corps, Maj.-Gen. Han
cock; Fifth Corps. Maj.-Gen. Warren;
Sixth Corps, Maj.-Gen. Sedgwick; Cav
alry Corps, Maj.-Gen. Sheridan; and
Ninth Corps, Maj.-Gen. Burnside. Con-
fed., Army of Xorthern Virginia, Gen.
R. E. Lee; First Corps, Lieut. -Gen.
Longstreet; Second Corps, Lieut. -Gen.
Ewell ; Third Corps, Lieut.-Gen. A.
P. Hill; Cavalry Corps, Maj.-Gen. Stu
art. Losses: Union, 22 t6 killed, 12,137
wounded, 3383 missing; Confed. (esti
mate) 2000 killed, 6000 wounded, 3100
missing; Union, Brig. -Gens. Wadsworth
and Hays killed ; Confed. Gens. Jones
and Jenkins killed, and Stafford. Long-
street, and Pcgram wounded.

5 to 9. — Rocky Face Ridge, Ga., including
Tunnel Hill, Mill Creek Gap, and Bux-
zard's Roost. Union, Military Division
of the Mississippi, commanded by Gen.
W. T. Sherman : Army of the Cum
berland, Maj.-Gen. Thomas; Army of
the Tennessee, Maj.-Gen. McPherson ;
Army of the Ohio, Maj.-Gen. John M.
Schofield, Elliott's and Stoneman's Cav
alry; Confed., Army of Tennessee, Gen.
J. E. Johnston, commanding; Hardee's
Corps, Hood's Corps, Wheeler's Cavalry.

* No record found.
[318]

FORT MORGAN FALLEN AFTER A STUBBORN DEFENSE

Among the decisive events of 1864 was the Union victory of Mobile Bay, August 23d. These smoke-blackened walls of the citadel,
Fort Morgan, its shattered face, are silent witnesses to the stubborn nature of the defense, and the folds of the American flag in the
distance proclaim the success of Farragut's attack. Gradually the Confederacy was being hemmed in and its resources exhausted.
The bay fight itself took place on the morning of August 5th. The success of Admiral Farragut at New Orleans in the previous year
had made him eager to close the remaining great gulf port to the blockade runners. After several months of effort he secured the
necessary cooperation of a land force, and of four monitors to deal with the powerful Confederate ram Tennessee. The naval oper
ations were entirely successful, but Fort Morgan had received hardly a scratch, and the commander sturdily refused to surrender.
A constant bombardment of two weeks was necessary to reduce it, during which the woodwork caught h're and threatened to set off
the great powder magazines. It was only when defense was obviously futile that General Page raised the white flag of surrender.

Engagements nf % (Html War

Losses: Union, 200 killed, 637 wounded;
Confed., 600 killed and wounded.

6. — James River, near City Point, Va.
Union, gunboat Commodore Jones;
Confed., Torpedo operators on shore.
Losses: Union, 23 killed, 48 wounded 12
and gunboat destroyed.

6 and 7. — Richmond and Petersburg Rail
road, near Chester Station, Va. Union,
Portion of Tenth and Eighteenth
Corps; Confed., Hagood's Brigade.
Losses: Union, 48 killed, 256 wounded;
Confed., 50 killed, 200 wounded.

7. — Bayou La Mourie, La. Union, Portion 12
of Sixteenth Corps; Confed., Gen. Tay
lor's command. Losses: Union, 10
killed, 31 wounded. 13

8.— Todd's Tavern, Va. Union, Sheridan's
Cav. ; Confed., Stuart's Cav. Losses :
Union, 40 killed, 150 wounded; Confed.,
30 killed, 150 wounded.

8 to 18. — Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg Road,

Laurel Hill, and Ny. River, Va. Union,
Army of the Potomac, Maj. -Gen. Meade;
Confed., Army of Northern Virginia,
Gen. R. E. Lee. Losses: Union, 2725
killed, 13,416 wounded, 2258 missing;
Confed., 1000 killed, 5000 wounded,
3000 missing; Union, Maj .-Gen. Sedg-
wick and Brig.-Gens. Rice and Steven- 15.
son killed; Confed. Gens. Daniel and
Perrin killed; Maj .-Gen. Ed. Johnson
and Brig.-Gen. Steuart captured.
9. — Varnell's Station, Ga. Union, First Div.
McCook's Cav. ; Confed., Wheeler's Cav.
Losses: Union, 4 killed, 25 wounded, 18.
100 captured.

9 and 10.— Swift Creek or Arrowfield Church,

Va. Union, Tenth and Eighteenth
Corps, Army of the James; Confed.,
Gen. Beauregard's command. Losses:
Union, 90 killed, 400 wounded ; Confed.,
500 killed, wounded, and missing.
— Cloyd's Mountain and New River
Bridge. Va. Union, 12th, 23d, 34th,
and 36th Ohio, 9th, llth, 14th, and
15th W. Va., 3d and 4th Pa. Reserves; 19
Confed., Gen. A. G. Jenkins' command.
Losses: Union, 108 killed, 508 wounded;
Confed., 600 killed and wounded, 300
missing. 20.

9 to 25.— Sheridan's Cavalry Raid in Vir
ginia, including engagements at Beaver
Dam Station, South Anna Bridge, Ash
land, and Yellow Tavern. Union, Sheri
dan's Cav.; Confed., Stuart's Cav.

[320]

Losses: Union, 50 killed, 174 wounded,
200 missing; Confed., killed and wounded
not recorded, 100 captured; Confed.,
Maj .-Gen. J. E. B. Stuart and Brig.-
Gen. Jas. B. Gordon killed.
to 16. — Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff,
Va. Union, Army of the James, Gen.
B. F. Butler, commanding; Tenth Corps;
Eighteenth Corps ; Confed., Gen. Beau-
regard's command. Losses: Union, 390
killed, 2380 wounded, 1390 missing;
Confed., 400 killed, 2000 wounded, 100
missing.

to 17. — Kautz's Raid on Petersburg and
Lynchburg Railroad, Va. Union, 6
killed, 28 wounded.

to 16. — Resaca, Ga. Union, Fourth,
Fourteenth, Twentieth, and Cavalry
Corps, Army of the Cumberland, Maj.-
Gen. Thomas; Fifteenth and Sixteenth
Corps, Army of the Tennessee, Maj.-
Gen. McPherson, and Twenty-third
Corps, Army of the Ohio, Maj .-Gen.
Schofield ; Confed., Army of Tennessee,
Gen. J. E. Johnston, commanding;
Army of Mississippi, Lieut. -Gen. Leon-
idas Polk. Losses: Union, 600 killed,
2147 wounded; Confed., 300 killed, 1. 500
wounded, 1000 missing.

— New Market, Va. Union, Maj. -Gen.
Sigel's command; Confed., Gen. J. C.
B r eckinr id ge's command. Losses:
Union, 93 killed, 482 wounded, 256
missing; Confed., 42 killed, 522
wounded.

— Rome and Kingston, Ga. Union, Sec
ond Division of Fourteenth Corps and
Cavalry, Army of the Cumberland. Con-
fed., Gen. Johnston's command. Losses:
Union, 16 killed, 59 wounded.
— Bayou De Glai/e or Calhoun Station,
La. Union, Portions of Sixteenth, Seven
teenth Corps, and Cavalry of Nineteenth
Corps ; Confed., Gen. Taylor's command.
Losses: Union, 60 killed, 300 wounded;
Confed., 500 killed and wounded.
to 22. — Cassville, Ga. Union, Twentieth
Corps, Maj. -Gen. Hooker; Confed., Gen.
Johnston's command. Losses: Union, 10
killed, 46 wounded.

Bermuda Hundred, Va. Union, Tenth
and Eighteenth Corps, Army of the
James; Confed., Gen. Beauregard's com
mand. Losses: Union, 702 killed and
wounded. Confed., (estimate) 700 killed,
wounded, and missing.

While the navy was per
fecting the blockade along
the coast, General Grunt at
Petersburg was trying to
get across Lee's entrench
ments. In the fall a par
tially successful attempt
was made on the lines be
tween Petersburg and Rich
mond. On the night of
September 28th-29th, the
Tenth Army Corps under
General D. H. Birney, and
the Eighteenth Army Corps
under General Orel, crossed
the James near this place,
drove back the Confederate
skirmishers, and by half-
past seven in the morning
.advanced three miles north
through the dense woods to
Fort Harrison. Slannard's
division then came upon
open ground before a strong
line of cart 1 1 works mounting

heavy guns, and protected
by a battery on the crest of
a hill. The troops charged
fourteen hundred yards
across a deeply plowed field
in the face of a galling fire
of artillery and musketry.
After a pause at the foot of
a hill, the head of the col
umn carried the parapet of
the fort and planted the
flag on one of its massive
traverses. In an attempt
to drive the Confederates
entirely from the position
General Ord was severely
wounded. On September
J50th the Confederate Gen
eral R. II. Anderson, com
manding Longstreet's Corps,
attacked the captured fort,
making three separate
charges, but was repulsed
with a loss of some two
thousand men.

WHERE ORD CROSSED THE JAMES

PALISADES AND PARAPET AT FORT HARRISON

nf ilje Olttril Uar

23 to 28.— North Anna River, Jericho Ford
or Taylor's Bridge, and Totopotomoy
Creek, Va. Union, Second, Fifth, and
Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac,
Ma j. -Gen. Meade; Con fed., Army of
Northern Virginia, Gen. II. E. I.ee.
Losses: Union, 186 Tilled, 912 wound- 2
ed, 165 missing; Con fed., 2000 killed
and wounded.

24.— Wilson's Wharf, Va. Union, 10th U. S.
Colored, 1st D C. Car., Battery B U. S.
Colored Arm. ; Confed., Fitzhugh Lee's 4,
Cav. Losses: Union, 2 killed, 21
wounded; Confed., 20 killed, 100
wounded.

25 to June 4. — Dallas, Ga., also called New

Hope Church and AUatoona Hills.
Union, Fourth, Fourteenth, Twentieth, 5.
and Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cum
berland, Maj .-Gen. Thomas ; Twenty-
third Corps, Maj .-Gen. Schofield; Fif
teenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth
Corps, Army of the Tennessee, Maj.-
Gen. McPherson — Division of the Mis
sissippi, Maj .-Gen. Sherman; Confed., 6,
Army of Tennessee, Gen. J. E. John
ston, commanding. Losses: Union,
2100 killed, wounded, and missing;
Confed., 369 killed, 1921 wounded.

26 to 29.— Decatur and Moulton, Ala. 9

Union, 1st, 3d, and 1th Ohio Cav., Sec
ond Cavalry Division ; Confed., Rod-
dey's Cav. Losses: Union, 18 killed
and wounded; Confed., 60 killed and 9
wounded.

27 and 28. — Hanovertown, Hawes' Shop, and

Salem Church, Va. First and Second
Divisions, Cavalry Corps, Maj .-Gen.
Sheridan ; Confed., detachments of Lee's
Army. Losses: Union, 25 killed, 119
wounded, 200 missing; Confed., 175
killed, wounded, and missing.
30.— Hanover and Ashland, Va. Union, Wil
son's Cavalry; Confed., Young's Cav.
Losses: Union, 26 killed, 130 wounded.
—Old Church, Va. Union, Torbert's
Cavalry; Confed., Cavalry of the Army
of Northern Virginia. Losses : Union,
16 killed, 71 wounded.

JUNE, 1864.

1 to 12. — Cold Harbor, Va., including
Gaines' Mill, Salem Church, and Hawes'
Shop. Union, Second, Fifth. Sixth,
Ninth, and Eighteenth Corps and Sheri-

dan's Cavalry ; Confed., A ' of North
ern Virginia, reinforced \)\ c fresh di
visions of Breckinridge, 'kett, and
Hoke. Losses: Union, 181-1 lied, 9077
wounded, 1816 missing; C< -/., 1200
killed and wounded, 500 mis

— Bermuda Hundred, Va. U ,i, Tenth
Corps ; Confed., Gen. Beaure rd's com
mand. Losses: Union, 25 led, 100
wounded; Confed., 100 ki led and
wounded.

— Panther Gap, W. Va. Union, Hayes's
Brigade of Second Division, Army of
West Virginia ; Confed., Gen. Lreekin-
ridge's command. Losses: Union, 25
killed and wounded; Confed., 25 killed
and wounded.

— Piedmont, W. Va. Union, portion of
Army of West Virginia, commanded by
Maj .-Gen. Hunter; Confed., Gen.
Vaughn's Cav. Losses : Union, 1 30
killed, 650 wounded; Confed., 160
killed, 1150 wounded, 1060 missing.
Confed. Gen. W. E. Jones killed.

— Old River Lake or Lake Chicot, Ark.
Union, Sixteenth Corps; Confed., Mar-
maduke's Cav. Losses: Union, 10 killed,
70 wounded; Confed., 100 killed and
wounded.

. — Mt. Sterling, Ky. Union, Burbridge's
Cav ; Confed., Morgan's Cav. Losses :
Union, 35 killed, 150 wounded; Confed.,
50 killed, 200 wounded, 250 captured.

to 30. — Kenesaw Mountain, Marietta or Big
Shanty, Ga., including general assault
on the 27th, Pine Mt., Golgotha, Gulp's
House, and Powder Springs. Union,
Fourth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth
Corps, Army of the Cumberland, Maj.-
Gen. Thomas ; Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and
Seventeenth Corps, Army of the Ten
nessee, Maj. Gen. McPherson; Twenty-
third Corps, Maj .-Gen. Schofield. Di
vision of the Mississippi, Maj .-Gen. W.
T. Sherman; Confed., Army of Tennes
see — Gen. J. E. Johnston, commanding.
Losses: Union, 1370 killed, 6500
wounded, 800 missing; Confed., 168
killed, 3180 wounded, missing not re
corded. Union, Brig.-Gen. Harker killed
and Col. D. McCook mortally wounded;
Confed., Lieut.-Gen. Polk ki'lled.

— Petersburg, Va. Union, portion of
Tenth Corps and Kautz's Cav.; Confed.,
Gen. R. E. Colston's command. Losses:
Union, 20 killed, 67 wounded.

THE OPPOSING

LINES
NEAR RICHMOND

This picture represents th",
main bomb-proof at For* ,
Brady. After the captun-1
of Fort Harrison the Unio.,'
authorities strengthene/. _
that position by construe
ing a line of fortificatir .>
southward to tlie James.
Fort Brady was at the
southern cud, commai ding
the river. The bomb-proof
was built of heavy cross
timbers, covered with fif
teen feet of solid earth, and
its entrances were at such
an angle as to be safe from
anv cross-fire. The lower

picture shows similar pre
cautions of the Confed
erates. Though Fort Har
rison was lost, Fort Gilmer,
a little farther north, was
held, and a line of entrench
ments was strengthened
from the rear of Harrison to
the James. This particu
lar picture shows a ditch
twenty-seven feet deep dug
to prevent the running of
mines from the adjacent
Federal lines. The man in
•hirt- sleeves standing in the
ditch is General Peter S.
Michie, acting Chief En
gineer for the I'nion armies
about Petersburg. He had
directed the construction of
Fort Brady, and is now, in
April, 18Go, investigating
the Confederate engineering
operations.

A WELL-PROTECTED MAGAZINE, FORT BRADY

THE 27-FOOT DITCH AT FORT GILMER, GUARD AGAINST FEDERAL MINES

ag? umttH uf tip (Html Mar

— Brice's Cross Roads, near Guntown,
Miss. Union, 81st, 95th, 108th, 113th,
11 4th, and 120th 111., 72d and 95th
Ohio, 9th Minn., 93d Ind., 55th and
59th U. S. Colored, Brig.-Gen. Grier-
son's Cavalry, the 4th Mo., 2d X. J.,
19th Pa., 7th and 9th 111., 7th Ind., 3d
and ith Iowa, and 10th Kan. Cav., 1st
111. and 6th Ind. Batteries, Battery F
2d U. S. Colored Artil; Con fed., For
rest's Cav. Losses: Union, 223 killed,
394 wounded, 1623 missing; Con fed.,
96 killed, 396 wounded.
— Cynthiana and Kellar's Bridge, Ky.
Union, 168th and 171st Ohio; Con fed.,
Morgan's Cav. Losses: Union, 21
killed, 71 wounded, 980 captured; Con-
fed*

10 and 11. — Lexington, W. Va. Union, Sec

ond Division Army of West Virginia ;
Confed., McCausland's Cav. Losses:
Union, 6 killed, 18 wounded.

11 and 13.— Cynthiana, Ky. Union, Bur-

bridge's €av. ; Confed., Morgan's Cav.
Losses: Union, 150 killed and wounded;
Confed., 300 killed and wounded, 400
captured.

— Trevilian Station, Va. Union, Sheri
dan's Cav.; Confed., Gen. Wade Hamp
ton's Cav. Losses: Union, 102 killed,
470 wounded, 435 missing; Confed. (in
complete) 59 killed, 258 wounded, 295
missing.

13. — White Oak Swamp Bridge, Va. Union,
Wilson's and Crawford's Cav. ; Confed.,
detachments of the Army of Northern
Virginia. Losses: Union, 50 killed, 250
wounded.

14. — Lexington, Mo. Union, Detachment 1st
Mo. Cav. Losses: Union, 8 killed, 1
wounded.

15. — Samaria Church, Malvern Hill, Va.
Union, Wilson's Cav. ; Confed., Hamp
ton's Cav. Losses: Union, 25 killed, 3
wounded ; Confed., 1 00 killed • and
wounded.

15 to 19. — Petersburg, Va., commencement of
the siege that continued to its fall
(April 2, 1865). Union, Tenth and
Eighteenth Corps, Army of the James,
Maj.-Gen. B. F. Butler'; Second, Fifth.
Sixth, and Ninth Corps, Army of the
Potomac, Maj .-Gen. Geo. G. Meade ;
Confed., Gen. Beauregard's command,
reenforced bv two divisions of Lee's

army on June 18th. Losses: Union,
1688 killed, 8513 wounded, 1185 miss
ing; Confed. (estimate), 5000 killed,
wounded, and missing.

16. — Otter Creek, near Liberty, Va. Union,
Hunter's command in advance of the
Army of West Virginia; Confed., Mc
Causland's Cav. Losses: Union, 3 killed,
15 wounded.

17 and 18.— Lynchburg, Va. '"/(/OH, Sulli
van's and Crook's divisions and Aver-
ell's and Duffie's Cav., Army of West
Virginia; Confed., Gen. Jubal Early 's
command. Losses: Union, 100 killed,
500 wounded, 100 missing; Confed.,
200 killed and wounded.

19- — Destruction of the Confed. cruiser Ala
bama, off Cherbourg, France, by U. S.
cruiser Kearsarge. Losses: Union, 3
wounded; Confed., 9 killed, 21 wounded,
10 drowned, and 70 captured.

21. — Salem, Va. Union, Averell's Cav.; Con-
fed., Gen. McCausland's Cav. Losses:
Union, 6 killed, 10 wounded; Confed.,
10 killed and wounded.

22 and 23.— Wei don Railroad, Williams'
Farm or Jerusalem Plank Road. Va.
Union, Second and Sixth C'orps and
First Division of Fifth Corps', Army of
the Potomac; Confed., Gen. A. P. Hill's
Corps. Losses: Union, 142 killed, 654
wounded, 2166 missing; Confed.*

22 to 30.— In front of Petersburg, Va.

Union, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eigh
teenth Corps; Confed., Army of North
ern Virginia. Losses: Union, 112 killed,
506 wounded, 800 missing.
— Wilson's Raid on the Weldon Rail
road, Va. Union, Kaut/'s and Wil
son's Cav. ; Confed., Gen. W. H. F.
Lee's Cav. Losses: Union, 71 killed,
262 wounded, 1119 missing; Confed.,
365 killed and wounded.

23 and 24. — Jones's Bridge and Samaria

Church, Va. Union, Torbert's and
Gregg's Cavalry Divisions; Confed.,
Hampton's Cav. Losses: Union, 54
killed, 235 wounded, 300 missing; Con-
fed., 250 killed and wounded.
25 to 29.— Clarendon, St. Charles Riverr
Ark. Union, 126th 111. and llth Mo.,
9th Iowa and 3d Mich. Cav., Battery D
2d Mo. Artil.; Confed., Gen. Price's
command. Losses: Union, 1 killed, 16
wounded ;Confed.,30 killed and wounded.

No record found.
[324]

THE LAST PORT CLOSED

Tort Fisher, captured January 15, 18G5. With the capture of Eort Fisher, Wilmington, the great importing depot of the South, on
which General Lee said the subsistence of his army depended, was finally closed to all blockade runners. The Federal navy con
centrated against the fortifications of this port the most powerful naval force ever assembled up to that time— fifty-five ships of war,
including five ironclads, altogether carrying six hundred guns. The upper picture shows the nature of the palisade, nine feet high,
over which some two thousand marines attempted to pass; the lower shows interior of the works after the destructive bombardment.

INSIDE FORT FISHER— WORK OF THE UNION FLEET

nf t dttril War

JULY, 1864.

1 to 31. — In front of Petersburg, including

Deep Bottom, New Market, and Mal-
vern Hill, on the 2?th, and Federal mine
explosion on the 30th under a Confed
erate fort. Union, Second, Fifth, Ninth,
Tenth, and Eighteenth Corps; Confed.,
Army of Northern Virginia. Losses:
Union, 853 killed, 3468 wounded, 1558
missing; Confed.*

2 to 5. — Nickajack Creek or Smyrna, Ga.

Union, troops under command of Maj.-
Gen. Sherman; Confed., Gen. John
ston's command. Losses: Union, 60
killed, 310 wounded; Confed., 100
killed and wounded.

2 to 10. — Expedition from Vicksburg to
Jackson, Miss. Union, First Division,
Seventeenth Corps; Confed., Gen. Wirt
Adam's command. Losses: Union, 220
killed, wounded., and missing; Confed.*

3. — Fort Johnson, James Island, S. C.
Union, Troops of Department of the
South; Confed., Gen. W. B. Taliaferro's
command. Losses: Union, 19 killed, 97
wounded, 135 missing; Confed.*

4 to 7. — Bolivar and Maryland Heights, Va.

Union, Maj.-Gen. Sigel's Reserve Di
vision; Confed., Gen. Jubal Early 's
command. Losses: Union, 20 killed, 80
wounded.

5 to 7. — John's Island, S. C. Union, Maj.-

Gen. Foster's troops; Confed., Gen. W.
B. Taliaferro's command. Losses :
Union, 16 killed, 82 wounded; Confed.,
33 killed, 92 wounded.

5 to 18. — Smith's Expedition, La Grange,

Tenn., to Tupelo, Miss. Union, First
and Third Divisions Sixteenth Corps,
one brigade U. S. Colored Troops and
Grierson's Cav. ; Confed., Forrest's Cav.
Losses: Union, 85 killed, 567 wounded;
Confed., 210 killed, 1049 wounded, 149
missing.

6 to 10. — Chattahoochee River, Ga. Union,

Army of the Ohio, Maj.-Gen. Schofield;
Army of the Tennessee, Maj.-Gen. Mc-
Pherson; Army of the Cumberland,
Maj.-Gen. Thomas — Division of the Mis
sissippi, Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman;
Confed., Gen. J. E. Johnston's com
mand. Losses: Union, 80 killed, 450
wounded, 200 missing.

7. — Solomon's Gap and Middletown, Md.
Union, 8th 111. Cav., Potomac Home
Brigade, and Alexander's Baltimore
Battery; Confed., Gen. Early's com
mand. Losses: Union, 5 killed, 20
wounded.

9. — Monocacy, Md. Union, First and Sec
ond Brigades of Third Division, Sixth
Corps, and detachment of Eighth Corps;
Confed., Gordon's, Breckinridge's and
Rodes' divisions under Gen. Jubal Early.
Losses: Union, 98 killed, 594 wounded,
1188 missing; Confed.*

11 to 22. — -Rousseau's raid in Alabama and
Georgia, including Ten Islands and
Stone's Ferry, Ala., and Auburn and
Chewa Station, Ga. Union, 8th Ind.,
5th Iowa, 9th Ohio, 2d Ky., and 4th
Tenn. Cav., Battery E 1st Mich. Artil. ;
Confed., Troops of Gen. J. E. John
ston's command. Losses: Union, 3
killed, 30 wounded; Confed., 95 killed
and wounded.

12. — Fort Stevens, Washington, D.C. Union,
Part of Nineteenth Corps, First and Sec
ond Divisions Sixtli Corps, Marines,
Home Guards, citizens, and convales
cents ; Confed., Gen. Early's command.
Losses: Union, 280 killed and 319
wounded; Confed*

17 and 18. — Snicker's Gap and Island Ford,
Va. Union, Army of West Virginia,
Maj.-Gen. Crook and portion of Sixth
Corps; Confed., Gen. Early's command.
Losses: Union, 30 killed, 181 wounded,
100 missing.

18. — Ashby's Gap, Va. Union, Duffle's Cav. ;
Confed.* Losses: Union, 124 killed and
wounded.

19 and 20. — Darksville, Stevenson's Depot,
and Winchester, Va. Union, Averell's
Cav.; Confed., Cavalry of Gen. Early's
command. Losses : Union, 38 killed,
175 wounded, 300 captured; Confed.,
300 killed and wounded, 300 captured.

20. — Peach Tree Creek, Ga. Union, Fourth,
Fourteenth, and Twentieth Corps, Maj.-
Gen. Geo. H. Thomas; Confed., Gen.
J. B. Hood's army. Losses (estimates) :
Union, 300 killed, 1410 wounded; Con-
fed., 1113 killed, 2500 wounded, 1183
missing.

22.— Atlanta, Ga. (Hood's first sortie.)
Union, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seven
teenth Corps, Maj.-Gen. McPherson;

* No record found.
[ 320 ]

THE REFUGE OF THE DEFENDERS

When the wounded leaders (Lamb and Whiting) in command of Fort Fisher saw it was impossible to hold out much longer, they were
removed on stretchers along the sea-coast to Battery Buchanan, pictured at the bottom of the page. The spent musket-balls from
the stubborn battle still raging in the fort fell like hailstones around the party. The garrison itself soon retreated to Buchanan, where
two miles of level sand separated them from the Federal troops, now in full possession of the fort. But they were defenseless, for
the guns in Buchanan had been spiked, and no means of escape was at hand. Consequently, when the Federal General J. C. Abbot
arrived in the night with two regiments, Colonel Lamb surrendered to him and his superior, General A. H. Terry, the works, with the
force of a thousand men and some sixty officers. Though the Federal army captured Fort Fisher, the cooperation of the fleet was
necessary to success. During the two days of almost ceaseless bombardment a thousand tons of shot and shell were poured upon the
defenses, wrecking nearly every gun and wounding or killing those of the garrison who dared to man the pieces.

nf tlj? Oltutl Har

Con fed., Gen. J. B. Hood's command.
Losses : Union, 500 killed, 2141 wounded,
1000 missing; Confed., 2482 killed, 4000
wounded, 2017 missing. Union, Gen.
McPherson killed.

23 and 24. — Kcrnstown and Winchester, Va.
Union, Portion of Army of West Vir
ginia ; Confed., Gen. Early's command.
Losses: Union, 1200 killed and wounded;
Confed., 600 killed and wounded.

26. — Wallace's Ferry, Ark. Union, 15th 111.
Cav., 6()th and 56th U. S. Colored
Troops, Co. E 2d U. S. Colored Artil.;
Confed., Gen. Price's command. Losses :
Union, 16 killed, 32 wounded; Confed.,
150 wounded.

26 to 31. — Stoneman's raid to Macon, Ga.
Union, Stoneman's and Garrard's Cav.;
Confed., Cavalry of Gen. Hood's army,
local garrisons and Home Guards.
Losses: Union, 100 killed and wounded,
900 missing; Confed.*
— McCook's raid to Lovejoy's Station,
Ga. Union, 1st Wis., 5th and 8th
Iowa, 2d and 8th Ind., 1st and 4th
Tenn., and 4th Ky. Cav.; Confed., de
tachments of Gen. Hood's command.
Losses: Union, 100 killed and wounded,
500 missing.

27. — Mazzard Prairie, Fort Smith, Ark.
Union, 6th Kan. Cav. ; Confed., Gen.
Price's command. Losses: Union, 12
killed, 1? wounded, 152 captured; Con-
fed., 12 killed, 20 wounded.

28. — Atlanta, Ga. (Second sortie; at Ezra
Church.) Union, Fifteenth, Sixteenth,
and Seventeenth Corps, Maj.-Gen. How
ard ; Confed., Gen. Hood's command.
Losses: Union, 100 killed, 600 wounded;
Confed., 642 killed, 3000 wounded, 1000
missing.

28 to Sept. 2.— Siege of Atlanta, Ga. Union,
Army of the Military Division of the
Mississippi, Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman;
Confed., Army of Tennessee, Gen. J. B.
Hood, commanding. Losses : Careful es
timates place the casualties at 40,000 on
each side.

AUGUST, 1864.

1 to 31. — In front of Petersburg, Va. Union,
Second, Fifth. Ninth, and Eighteenth
Corps; Confed., Army of Northern Vir

ginia. Losses: Union, 158 killed, 623
wounded, 296 missing; Confed.*
2. — Green Springs, W. Va. Union, 153d
Ohio; Confed., troops of Gen. J. H.
Morgan's command. Losses: Union,
1 killed, 5 wounded, 90 missing; Con-
fed., 5 killed, 22 wounded.
5 to 23. — Forts Gaines and Morgan, Mo
bile Bay, Ala. Union, Thirteenth Corps
and Admiral Farragut's fleet of war
vessels ; Confed., fleet commanded by
Admiral Buchanan and land forces
under Gen. D. H. Maury. Losses:
Union, 145 killed, 170 wounded; Con-
fed., 12 killed, 20 wounded, 280 cap
tured.

7. — Moorefield, Va. Union, 14th Penna.,
8th Ohio, 1st and 3d W. Va., and 1st
N. Y. Cav. ; Confed., McCausland's and
Bradley T. Johnson's Cav. Losses:
Union, 9 killed, 22 wounded; Confed.,
100 killed and wounded, 400 missing.
9. — Explosion of ammunition at City Point,
Va. Losses: Union, 70 killed, 130
wounded.

10 and 11. — Berryville Pike, Sulphur Springs
Bridge and White Post, Va. Union, Tor-
bert's Cav. ; Confed., Gen. Early's com
mand. Losses: Union, 30 killed, 70
wounded, 200 missing.

13. — Near Snicker's Gap, Va. Union, 144th
and 149th Ohio; Confed., Gen. R. H.
Anderson's command. Losses: Union,
4 killed, 10 wounded, 200 missing; Con-
fed., 2 killed, 3 wounded.

14 to 18. — Strawberry Plains, Va. Union,
Second and Tenth Corps and Gregg's
Cav. ; Confed., detachments from Gen.
Lee's army at Petersburg. Losses :
Union, 327* killed, 1855 wounded, 1400
missing; Confed. (estimate), 1000 killed,
wounded, and missing.

15. — Fisher's Hill, near Strasburg, Va.
Union, Sixth and Eighth Corps and 1st
Cav. Division Army of the Potomac ;
Confed., Gen. Early's command. Losses :
Union, 30 wounded.

16. — Crooked Run, Front Royal, Va. Union,
Merritt's Cav. ; Confed., Kershaw's di
vision and Fitzhugh Lee's Cav. Losses :
Union, 13 killed, 58 wounded; Confed.,
30 killed, 150 wounded, 300 captured.
17. — Gainesville, Fla. Union, 75th Ohio
Mounted Inf. Losses: Union, 16 killed,
30 wounded. 102 missing.

* No record found.

[ 328 ]

j •"-" d
1 "r O

nf Qlttril

— Winchester, Va. Union, New Jersey
Brigade of Sixth Corps and Wilson s
Cav. ; Con fed., Gen. Early's command.
Losses: Union, 50 wounded, 250 miss
ing.

18, 19, and 20.— Six-mile House, Weldon
Railroad, Va. Union, Fifth and Ninth
Corps and Kautz's and Gregg's Cav.;
Con-fed., Gen. A. P. Hill's corps, Bush-
rod Johnson's division, Dearing's bri
gade and Hampton's Cav. Losses:
Union, 251 killed, 1155 wounded, 2879
missing; Confed.*

18 to 32.— Raid on the Atlanta and West
Point Railroad. Union, Kilpatrick's
Cav. ; Confed., W7. H. Johnson's Cav.
Losses: Union, 400 wounded.

21. — Summit Point, Berry ville, and Flowing
Springs, Va. Union, Sixth Corps, and
Merritt's and Wilson's Cav. ; Confed.,
Rodes' and Ramseur's divisions. Losses:
Union, 600 killed and wounded; Confed.,
400 killed and wounded.
— Memphis, Tenn. Union, detachments
of 8th Iowa and 113th 111., 39th, 40th,
and 41st WTis., 6 1st U. S. Colored, 3d
and 4th Iowa Cav., Battery G 1st Mo.
Lt. Artil.; Confed., Forrest's Cav.
Losses: Union, 30 killed, 100 wounded;
Confed., 100 killed and wounded.

21 and 22. — Oxford, Miss. Union, 4th Iowa,
llth and 21st Mo., 3d Iowa Cav.,
1 2th Mo. Cav. ; Confed., Forrest's Cav.
Losses: Confed.*

23.— Abbeville, Miss. Union, 10th Mo., 14th
Iowa, 5th and 7th Minn., 8th Wis. ; Con-
fed., Forrest's Cavalry. Losses : Union,
20 wounded ; Confed., 34 killed, wounded,
and missing.

24. — Jones' Hay Station and Ashley Sta
tion, Ark. Union, 9th Iowa and 8th and
llth Mo. Cav.; Confed., Troops of Gen.
Price's command. Losses: Union, 5
killed, 41 wounded; Confed., 60 wounded.

24 and 25. — Bermuda Hundred, Va. Union,
Tenth Corps ; Confed., troops of Gen.
Lee's command. Losses: Union, 31
wounded; Confed., 61 missing.

24 to 27. — Halltown, Va. Union, portion
of Eighth Corps; Confed., Gen. Early's
command. Losses: Union, 30 killed,
141 wounded; Confed., 130 killed and
wounded.

25. — Smithfield and Shepherdstown or Kear-
neysville, Va. Union, Merritt's and

Wilson's Cav.; Confed., Gen. Early's
command. Losses : Union, 10 killed, 90
wounded, 100 missing; Confed., 300
killed and wounded.

— Ream's Station, Va. Union, Second
Corps and Gregg's Cav.; Confed., Gen.
A. P. Hill's command. Losses: Union,
140 killed, 529 wounded, 2073 missing;
Confed., 720 killed and wounded.

29. — Smithh'eld, Va. Union, Third Division
Sixth Corps and Torbert's Cav.; Con-
fed., Gen. Early's command. Losses:
Union, 10 killed, 90 wounded; Confed.,
200 killed and wounded.

31 and Sept. 1. — Jonesboro, Ga. Union,
Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seven
teenth Corps and Cavalry Corps; Con-
fed., Gen Hardee's Corps, Gen. S. D.
Lee's Corps, Army of Tennessee, Gen.
J. B. Hood, commanding. Losses:
Union, 1149 killed and wounded; Con-
fed., 1400 killed, wounded, and miss
ing.

SEPTEMBER, 1864.

1 to 8. — 'Rousseau's pursuit of Wheeler in
Tenn. Union, Rousseau's Cav., 1st and
4th Tenn., 2d Mich., 1st Wis., 8th Iowa,
2d and 8th Ind., and 6th Ky. ; Confed.,
Wheeler's Cav. Losses: Union, 10
killed, 30 wounded; Confed., 300 killed,
wounded, and captured.

1 to Oct. 30.— In front of Petersburg.
Union, Army of the Potomac; Confed.,
Army of Northern Virginia. Losses:
Union, 170 killed, 822 wounded, 812
missing; Confed.*

2. — Federal occupation of Atlanta, Ga.
(Evacuation by Hood's rear-guard dur
ing the night of the 1st.) Union, Twen
tieth Corps. Losses: Confed., 200 cap
tured.

3 and 4. — Berryville, Va. Union, Eighth
and Nineteenth Corps and Torbert's
Cav. ; Confed., Anderson's command.
Losses: Union, 30 killed, 182 wounded,
100 missing; Confed., 25 killed, 100
wounded, 70 missing.

4. — Greenville, Tenn. Union, 9th and 13th
Tenn., and 10th Mich. Cav.; Confed.,
Morgan's Cav. Losses: Union, 6
wounded; Confed., 10 killed, 60
wounded, 75 missing; Confed., Gen.
John H. Morgan killed.

* No record found.
[ 330 ]

THE F O R T

THAT XKVER

SURRENDERED

SUMTER FROM

THE SAND-BAR,

APRIL, 1865

THE UNION* PHOTOGRAPHER IN SUMTER AT LAST

The shapeless ruins of
Sumter, demolished by eigh
teen months of almost con
stant fire from Federal bat
teries, appear in the top
picture, of April 14, 18(i.5,
the anniversary of Major
Anderson's evacuation in
1861. Next comes the
Federal fleet dressed with
flags for the celebration; and
below, a group at the foot
of the pole listening to
Henry Ward Beecher. In
the foreground stand the
soldiers and sailors who
had taken part in the
ceremonies of raising on the
shining white staff the very
flag that had been lowered
exactly four years earlier.

On the night of this gala
occasion President Lincoln
was shot in Washington.
Sumter had in a sense be
come a symbol of the Con
federacy. Repeated efforts
had been made to conquer
its garrisons. But with a
tenacity of purpose typical
of the South, its shattered
walls were transformed into
an earthwork impregnable
to assault and lending the
aid of its six heavy guns
to the defenses of Charleston
Harbor. It was evacuated
only on the night of Feb
ruary 17th, when South
Carolina needed every man
that could possibly be sum
moned to oppose Sherman.

RAISING THE FLAG, APRIL 14rn

cf tlf? (Ettrii Uar

10.— Capture of Fort Hell, Va. Union, 99th
Pa., 20th Ind., 2d U. S. Sharpshooters.
Losses: Union, 20 wounded; Con fed., 90
prisoners.

13. — Lock's Ford, Va. Union, Torbert's Cav. ;
Confed., Gen. Early's command. Losses:
Union, 2 killed, 18 wounded; Confed.,
181 captured.

16. — Sycamore Church, Va. Union, 1st D. C.
and 13th Pa. Cav. Losses: Union, -100
killed, wounded, and captured; Confed.,
50 killed and wounded.

16 and 18.— Fort Gibson, Ind. Ter. Union,
79th U. S. Colored and 2d Kan. Cav.
Losses: Union, 38 killed, 48 missing.

19 to 22.— Winchester and Fisher's Hill, Va.
Union, Sixth, Eighth, and 1st and 2d
Divisions of the Nineteenth Corps, Av-
erell's and Torbert's Cav., Maj.-Gen.
Phil. Sheridan; Confed., Gen. Jubal
Early's command. Losses : Union, 74*9
killed, 44-10 wounded, 357 missing;
Confed., 250 killed, 1777 wounded,
2813 captured; Union, Brig.-Gens. Rus
sell and Mulligan killed; Confed., Maj.-
Gen. Rodes and Brig.-Gen. Godwin
killed.

23.— Athens, Ala. Union, 106th, 110th, and
114th U. S. Colored, 3d Tenn. Cav., re-
enforced by 18th Mich, and 102d Ohio;
Confed., Forrest's Cav. Losses: Union,
950 missing; Confed., 5 killed, 25
wounded.

26 and 27.— Pilot Knob or Ironton, Mo.
Union, 47th and 50th Mo., 14th Iowa,
2d and 3d Mo. Cav., Battery H 2d Mo.
Lt. Artil. ; Confed., Gen. Sterling Price's
command. Losses: Union, 28 killed, 56
wounded, 100 missing; Confed., 1500
killed and wounded.

27.— Centralia, Mo. Union, three cos. 39th
Mo.; Confed., Price's forces. Losses:
Union, 122 killed, 2 wounded.
— Marianna, Fla. Union, 7th Vt., 82d
U. S. Colored and 2d Maine Cav.; Con-
fed., Troops of Col. A. B. Montgom
ery's command, including Anderson's
militia. Losses: Union, 32 wounded;
Confed., 81 missing.

28 and 30.— Xew Market Heights or Laurel
Hill, Va. Union, Tenth and Eighteenth
Corps and Kautz's Cav. ; Confed., Gen.
R. S. E well's command, supported by
Lorigstreet's Corps under R. H. Ander
son. Losses: Union, 400 killed, 2029

wounded; Confed., 2000 killed and
wounded.

30 and Oct. 1.— Poplar Springs Church, Va.
Union, First Division Fifth Corps and
Second Division Ninth Corps; Confed.,
Gen. A. P. Hill's Corps. Losses: Union,
187 killed, 900 wounded, 1802 missing;
Confed. (estimate), 800 killed and
wounded, 100 missing.
— Arthur's Swamp, Va. Union, Gregg's
Cav. ; Confed., Hampton's Cav. Losses :
Union, 60 wounded, 100 missing; Con-
fed*

OCTOBER, 1864.

2. — Wavnesboro, Va. Union, portion of
Ouster's and Merritt's Cav.; Confed.,
. Gen. Early's command. Losses: Union,
50 killed and wounded.
— Saltville, Va. Union, llth and 13th
Ky. Cav., 12th Ohio, llth Mich., 5th
and 6th U. S. Colored Cav., 26th, 30th,
35th, 37th, 39th, 40th, and 45th Ky.
Mounted Inf.; Confed., Gen. Breckin-
ridge's Infantry, Col. Giltner's Cav.,
13th Va. Reserves (Home Guards).
Losses: Union, 54 killed, 190 wounded,
104 missing; Confed., 18 killed, 71
wounded, 21 missing.

5. — Allatoona Pass, Ga. Union, 7th, 12th,
50th, 57th, and 93d 111., 39th Iowa. 4th
Minn., 18th Wis., and 12thWis. Battery;
Confed., Gen. French's command. Loss
es: Union, 142 killed, 352 wounded, 212
missing; Confed., 127 killed, 456 wound
ed, 290 missing.

7 and 13. — Darbytown Road Va. Union,
Tenth Corps and Kautz's Cav.; Confed.,
troops of Gen. R. E. Lee's command.
Losses: Union, 105 killed, 502 wounded,
206 missing; Confed.*

9. — Tom's Brook, Fisher's Hill or Strasburg,
Va. Union, Merritt's, Custer's and Tor
bert's Cav.; Confed., Rosser's and Lo-
max's Cav. Losses: Union, 9 killed, 67
wounded; Confed., 100 killed and
wounded, 180 missing.

13. — Reconnaissance to Strasburg, Va. Union,
Maj.-Gens. Emory's and Crook's troops;
Confed., Gen. Early's command. Losses:
Union, 30 killed, 144 wounded, 40
missing.

— Dalton, Ga. Union, troops under Col.
Johnson, 44th U. S. Colored; Confed.,

* No record found.
[ 332 ]

The calm sunlight of April, 18(>j, is falling
on the northern face of the fort which had
withstood a severer bombardment than
any other fort ideation attacked during the
('ivil War. This wall was across the fort
from the one upon which the heavy Union
batteries on Morris Island concentrated
their fire. But many a shot passing over
the southern wall struck this rampart
from the inside, making breaches that
had to be patched with gabions. Patched
in this way it continued to the end of the
war. frowning across the waters of the
bay upon the blockading fleet and the
Union batteries. Thus it looked when,
on February 18, 1865, Colonel Bonnet, in
command of the United States forces at
Charleston, was rowed across from Cum
mins Point toward Fort Moultrie. Forty
yards east of Sumter he met a boat filled
with musicians who had been left behind
by the Confederates, lie directed one of
his subordinates to proceed to Sumter and
raise the American flag above the ram
parts — for the first time in four years.

SUMTER ONCE MORE IN PEACE

Sumter, inside the face of which the out
side is shown above. The skill with
which gabions were employed to strength
en the ramparts is apparent. A descrip
tion of the relinquishment of the position
follows in the words of Major John John
son: "On the night of the 17th of Febru
ary, 186a, the commander, Captain
Thomas A. Huguenin, silently and with
out interruption effected the complete
evacuation. He has often told me of the
particulars, and I have involuntarily ac
companied him in thought and feeling as,
for the last time, he went the rounds of
the deserted fort. The ordered casements
with their massive guns were there, but
in the stillness of that hour his own foot
fall alone gave an echo from the arches
overhead. The labyrinthine galleries, as
he traversed them, were lighted for a
moment by his lantern; he passed out
from the shadows to step aboard the little
boat awaiting him at the wharf, and the
four years' defense of Fort Sumter was at
an end."

THE DESERTED DEFENSES

WITHIN THE DEADLY ZONE AT PETERSBURG

The officers' quarters of Fort Sedgvvick, a bomb-proof structure, was a post of honor in the Federal line, as it invariably drew the hot
test fire. It stands immediately behind the salient at which the guas were served. On the right is the " Blessed Well " of Fort Damna
tion. The commands garrisoning this fort- were changed more frequently than any other. Regiments were continually moved from
one part of the line to the camps near City Point to recuperate, while fresh troops were brought up from that base to take their places.
General John Grubb Park commanded the Ninth Corps, and it was this body of Federal troops that advanced from behind
Fort Sedgwick and, supported by its guns, seized the Confederate entrenchments opposite in an assault made on April 2, 1S65.

A WINTER DUG-OUT

CAVE DWELLERS

A CONFEDERATE MILL IX '65— WHERE THE SOUND OF THE GRINDING WAS LOW

The wonder is that Lee's starving army was able to hold out
as long as it did. This well-built flour-mill was one of many
which in times of peace carried on an important industry in the
town. But long before the siege closed, all the mills were empty
of grain and grist. Could Lee have
kept the flour-mills of Petersburg and
Richmond running during the last
winter of the war, disaster would not
have come to his famished forces so
early in 1865. At the beginning of
the year but one railroad, a canal,
and a turnpike remained by which
supplies could be gotten into Peters
burg from Wilmington, N. C., and
Charleston, S. C. These were the
last two ports that the blockade-
runners still dared venture into with
supplies for the Confederacy. Not
onlv was food scarce, but the de

serters from Lee's army, averaging about a hundred daily, re
vealed plainly the fact that the Confederate troops with their
threadbare, insufficient clothing, were in a most pitiable condi
tion. Not only was food lacking, but ammunition was running
low. During 1804 the supply of per
cussion-caps for the Confederate army
had been kept up only by melting the
copper stills throughout the South.
Now even these were exhausted, and
there were no more supplies of cop
per in sight. Hundreds of heartrend
ing letters were intercepted and sent to
Lee's headquarters. " Mothers, wives,
and sisters wrote of their inability to
respond to the appeals of hungry
children for bread or to provide proper
care and remedies for the sick, and in
the name of all that was dear appealed
to the men to come home.

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nf the Qliutl

Gen. Hood's advance troops. Losses:
Union, 400 missing.

15. — Glasgow, Mo. Union, 43d Mo., and de
tachments of 17th 111., 9th Mo. Militia,
13th Mo. Cav., 62d U. S. Colored;
Confed., Gen. Sterling Price's command.
Losses: Union, 400 wounded and miss
ing; Confed., 50 killed and wounded.

19.— Cedar Creek, Va. (Sheridan's Ride.)
Union, Sixth Corps, Eighth Corps, and
First and Second Divisions Nineteenth
Corps, Merritt's, Custer's, and Torbert's
Cav.; Confed., Gen. Jubal Early's army.
Losses: Union, 644 killed, 3430 wound
ed, 1591 captured or missing; Confed.,
320 killed, 1540 wounded, 1050 missing;
Union, Brig.-Gen. Bidwell and Col.
Thoburn killed; Confed., Maj.-Gen.
Ramseur killed.

26 to 29. — Decatur, Ala. Union, 18th Mich.,

102d Ohio, 68th Ind., and 14th U. S.
Colored; Confed., Gen. J. B. Hood's
army. Losses: Union, 10 killed, 45
wounded, 100 missing; Confed., 100
killed, 300 wounded.

27. — Hatcher's Run, Va. Union, Gregg's
Cav., Second and Third Divisions Second
Corps, Fifth and Ninth Corps ; Confed.,
Gen. Hill's Corps, Fitzhugh Lee's and
M. C. Butler's Cav. Losses: Union,
166 killed, 1047 wounded, 699 missing;
Confed., 200 killed, 600 wounded, 200
missing (Federal estimate).
— Destruction at Plymouth, N. C., of the
Confed. ram Albemarle, by Lieut. W.
B. Gushing, U. S. N., and 14 officers and
men. Losses: Union, 2 drowned, 11
captured. Confed.*

— Morristown, Tenn. Union, Gen. Gil-
lem's Cav. ; Confed., Forrest's Cav.
Losses: Union, 8 killed, 42 wounded;
Confed., 240 missing.

27 and 28.— Fair Oaks, Va. Union, Tenth

and Eighteenth Corps and Kautz's Cav. ;
Confed., Gen. Longstreet's command.
Losses: Union, 120 killed, 783 wounded,
400 missing; Confed., 60 killed, 311
wounded, 80 missing.

28 and 30. — Newtonia, Mo. Union, Col.

Blunt's Cav.; Confed., Gen. Price's com
mand. Losses: Confed., 250 killed and
wounded.

29.— Beverly, W. Va. Union, 8th Ohio Cav.;
Confed., troops of Gen. Breckinridge's
command. Losses: Union, 8 killed, 25

wounded, 13 missing; C< Ted., 17 killed,
27 wounded, 92 missing

NOVEMBER, 18(

5. — Fort Sedgwick or Fort Hei nion,

Second Corps; Confed., ti f Gen.

Lee's Army of Nortlie , irginia.

Losses: Union, 5 killed, {• wounded;
Confed., 15 killed, 35 woun

12. — Newtown and Cedar Springs, ... Union,
Merritt's, Custer's, and PoV- ell's Cav. ;
Confed., troops of Gen. Early's com
mand. Losses: Union, 84 wounded, 100
missing; Confed., 150 killed, wounded,
and missing.

13.— Bull's Gap., Tenn. Union, 8th, 9th, and
13th Tenn. Cav.; Confed., advance of
Gen. Hood's army. Losses: Union, 5
killed, 36 wounded, 200 missing ; Con-
fed*

17. — 'Bermuda Hundred, Va. Union, 209th
Pa. ; Confed., troops of Gen. Lee's army.
Losses: Union, 10 wounded, 120 missing;
Confed., 10 wounded.

21. — Griswoldville, Ga. Union, Walcutt's
Brigade First Division, Fifteenth
Corps, and First Brigade Third Divi
sion Cav. ; Confed., Gen. Gustavus W.
Smith's Georgia Militia. Losses: Union,
13 killed, 69 wounded; Confed., 5 killed,
472 wounded, 2 missing.

22.— Rood's Hill, Va. Union, Torbert's Cav.;
Confed., Gen. Early's command. Losses:
Union, 18 killed, 52 wounded; Confed.*

24. — Lawrenceburg, Campbellville, and Lynn-
ville, Tenn. Union, Hatch's Cav. ; Con-
fed., Cavalry of Hood's army. Losses:
Union, 75 killed and wounded; Confed.,
50 killed and wounded.

26. — Sandersville, Ga. Union, Third Bri
gade First Division, Twentieth Corps;
Confed., Wheeler's Cav. Losses: Union,
100 missing; Confed., 100 missing.

26 to 29. — Sylvan Grove, Waynesboro',
Browne's Cross Roads, Ga. Union,
Kilpatrick's Cav. ; Confed., Wheeler's
Cav. Losses: Union, 46 wounded;
Confed*

29 and 30.— Spring Hill and Franklin, Tenn.
Union, Fourth and Twenty-third Corps
and Cav.; Confed., Gen. J. B. Hood's
army. Losses: Union, 189 killed, 1033
wounded, 1104 missing; Confed., 1750
killed, 3800 wounded, 702 missing.

* No record found.

[ 338 ]

OT PUB. CO.

HAVOC UNCONFINED— THE RICHMOND ARSENAL

As the camera clicks in April, 18(55, the long-defended citadel of the Confederacy is at last deserted;
its munitions of war no longer ready for service against an enemy; its armies at a distance,
retreating as rapidly as their exhausted condition permits. These fire-blasted and crumbling walls
are a fit symbol of the condition of the South at the close of the war. The scene at this arsenal on
the night of April 2d was one of the most brilliant and splendid of the whole conflict. The arsenal
was near the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad at the James River. The high-arched bridges ablaze
across the stream, the deafening reports of exploding magazines, the columns of white smoke rising
high into the sky lurid from thousands of shells bursting in the arsenal, the falling of the broken frag
ments among the already panic stricken fugitives — all these features created a scene such as the world
has seldom witnessed. Early in the morning of April 3d the clatter of Federal cavalry was heard in
the streets. The Stars and Stripes waved. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy no longer.

[c]

jEngag?matt0 0f tip (Ettril War

Union, Maj.-Gens. Stanley and Bradley
wounded; Con fed., Ma j. -Gen. Cleburne,
Brig.-Gens. Adams, Strahl, Gist, and
Granbury killed, Maj.-Gen. Brown and
Brig.-Gens. Carter, Manigault, Quarles,
Cockrell, and Scott wounded.
30. — Honey Hill or Grahamsville, S. C.
Union, 25th Ohio, 56th and 155th N. ¥.,
26th, 32d, 35th, and 102d U. S. Colored,
54th and 55th Mass. Colored; Confed.,
Georgia Militia under Gen. G. W.
Smith, S. C. Battery. Losses: Union, 91
killed, 631 wounded; Confed., 8 killed,
42 wounded.

DECEMBER, 1864.

1. — Stony Creek Station, Weldon Railroad,
Va. Union, Gregg's Cav.; Confed.,
Capt. Waldhauer's command and Gen.
Fitzhugh Lee's Cav. Losses: Union, 40
wounded; Confed., 175 captured.

1 to 14.— In front of Nashville, Tenn.
Union, Fourth, Twenty-third Corps;
First and Third divisions of Sixteenth
Corps; Wilson's Cav.; Confed., Gen.
Hood's army. Losses: Union, 16 killed,
100 wounded; Confed.*

1 to 31. — In front of Petersburg. Union,
Army of the Potomac; Confed., troops
of Lee's army. Losses: Union, 40 killed,
329 wounded; Confed*

4. — Block-house No. 7, Tenn. Union, Gen.
Milroy's troops; Confed., Gen. Bate's
division of Hood's army. Losses: Union,
100 killed, wounded, and missing; Con-
fed., 87 killed, wounded and miss
ing.

5 to 8. — Murfreesboro', Tenn. Union, Gen.

Rousseau's troops ; Confed., Gen. Bate's
command. Losses: Union, 30 killed, 175
wounded; Confed., 197 missing.

6 to 9. — Deveaux's Neck, S. C. Union, 56th,

127th, 144th, 155th, and 157th X. Y.,
25th Ohio, 26th, 32d, 33d, 34th, and
102d U. S. Colored, 54th and 55th Mass.
Colored, 3d R. I. Artil., Naval brigade
Bat. F, 3d N. Y . Lt. Art., and gunboats ;
Confed., troops of Gen. Samuel Jones'
command. Losses: Union, 39 killed, 390
wounded, 200 missing; Confed., 400
killed and wounded.

7 to 11. — Weldon Railroad Expedition.

Union, Fifth Corps, Third Division of

Second Corps, and Second Division Cav
alry C'orps, Army of the Potomac; Con-
fed., Gen. A. P. Hill's command. Losses:
Union, 100 killed and wounded; Con-
fed*

8 and 9.— Hatcher's Run, Va. Union, First
Division, Second Corps, 3d and 13th
Pa. Cav., 6th Ohio Cav.; Confed., Gen.
Hill's command. Losses: Union, 125
killed and wounded; Confed.*
8 to 28.— Raid to Gordonsville, Va. Union,
Merritt's and Custer's Cav.; Confed.,
Cavalry of Gen. Early 's army. Losses:
Union, 43 killed and wounded*. Confed*
10 to 21. — Siege of Savannah, Ga. Union,
Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and
Twentieth Corps of Sherman's army;
Confed., Gen. W. J. Hardee's command.
Losses: Union, 200 killed and wounded;
Confed. (estimate), 800 killed, wounded,
and missing.

12 to 21. — Federal raid from Bean's Station,
Tenn., to Saltville, Va., including Abing-
don, Glade Springs, and Marion.
Union, Stoneman's Cav.; Confed., Gen.
J. C. Breckinridge's command. Losses:
Union, 20 killed, 123 wounded; Confed.,
126 wounded, 500 missing.
13.— Fort McAllister, Ga. Union, Second
Division of Fifteenth Corps; Confed.,
Garrison commanded by Maj. W. G.
Anderson. Losses: Union, 24 killed,
110 wounded; Confed., 48 killed and
wounded, 200 missing.

15 and 16.— Nashville, Tenn. Union, Fourth
Corps; First and Third Divisions Thir
teenth Corps; Twenty-third Corps; Wil
son's Cav., and detachments colored
troops, convalescents; Confed., Gen. J.
B. Hood's army. Losses: Union, 387
killed, 2558 wounded; Confed., 4462
killed, wounded, and missing.
17. — Franklin, Tenn. Union, Wilson's Cav.;
Confed., Forrest's Cav. Losses: Con-
fed., 1800 wounded and sick captured.
( Incident of Hood's retreat from Nash
ville.)

25.— Fort Fisher, N. C. Union, Tenth Corps
and North Atlantic Squadron, com
manded by Rear- Admiral D. D. Porter;
Flag-Ship, Mah'ern; Iron-Clads : Canon-
icus, Mahopac, Monadnock, Xew Iron
sides, Sangus; Screw-Frigates: Colorado,
Minnesota, Wabash; Side- Wheel Steam
ers (first class) : Potrhatan, Susque-

* No record found.
[340]

EMPTY VAULTS— THE EXCHANGE BANK, RICHMOND, 1865

The sad significance of these photographs is all too apparent. Not only the bank buildings
were in ruins, but the financial system of the entire South. All available capital had been
consumed by the demands of the war, and a system of paper currency had destroyed credit
completely. Worse still was the demoralization of all industry. Through large areas of
the South all mills and factories were reduced to ashes, and everywhere the industrial system
was turned topsy-turvy. Truly the problem that confronted the South was stupendous.

WRECK OF THE GALLE(U) FLOfR MILLS

0f the OJtml War

hanna; Screw Sloops: Brooklyn, Juniata,
Mohican, Shenandoah, Ticonderoga, Tus-
carora; Screw Gun-Vessels: Kansas,
Maurnee, Nyack, Pequot, Yantic; Screw
Gun-Boats: Chippewa, Huron, Seneca,
Unadilla; Double-Enders: losco, Macki
naw, Maratanza, Osceola, Pantuxet, Pon-
toosuc, Sassacus, Tacony; Miscellaneous
Vessels: Fort Jackson, Monticello, Ne-
reus, Quaker City, Rhode Island, San
tiago de Cuba, Vanderbilt; Powder Ves
sel: Louisiana; Reserve: A. D. ranee,
Alabama, Britannia, Cherokee, Emma,
Gettysburg, Governor Buckingham, Hotv-
quah, Keystone State, Lilian, Little Ada,
Moccasin, Nansemond, Tristram Shandy,
Wilderness; Confed., North Carolina
troops in garrison, commanded by Col.
William Lamb, Gen. Hoke's Division
outside. Losses: Union, 8 killed, 38
wounded; Confed., 3 killed, 55 wounded,
280 prisoners.

28. — Egypt Station, Miss. Union, 4th and
llth 111. Cav., 7th Ind., 4th and 10th
Mo., 2d Wis., 2d N. J., 1st Miss, and 3d
U. S. Colored Cav. ; Confed., troops of
Gen. Gardner's army under Gen. Ghol-
son. Losses: Union, 23 killed, 88
wounded; Confed., 500 captured; Con-
fed., Brig.-Gen. Gholson killed.

JANUARY, 1865.

11. — Beverly, W. Va. Union, 34th Ohio and
8th Ohio Cav. ; Confed., Gen. Breckin-
ridge's command. Losses: Union, 5
killed, 20 wounded, 583 missing; Con-
fed*

12 to 15.— Fort Fisher, N. C. Union, Por
tions of Twenty-fourth and Twenty-
fifth Corps and Admiral Porter's fleet;
Same ships as Dec. 25th above, with
the exception that the Nyack, Keystone
State, and Quaker City were not present
and the Montgomery, Cuyler, Aries,
Eolus; Fort Donelson, and Republic had
been added to the fleet; Confed., Same
as Dec. 25th above. Losses: Union,
184 killed, 749 wounded; Confed., 400
killed and wounded, 2083 captured.

25 to Feb. 9.— Combahee River and River's
Bridge, Salkahatchie, S. C. Union, Fif
teenth and Seventeenth Corps; Confed.,
Wade Hampton's Cav. Losses: Union,
138 killed and wounded; Confed.*

FEBRUARY, 1865.

5 to 7. — Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run,
Va. Union, Fifth Corps and First Di
vision Sixth Corps and Gregg's Cav. ;
Confed.., troops of Gen. A. P. Hill's
and Gen. J. B. Gordon's Corps. Losses:
Union, 171 killed, 1181 wounded, 186
missing; Confed., 1200 killed and
wounded; Confed., Gen. Pegram killed.
8 to 14. — Williston, Blackville, and Aiken,
S. C. Union, Kilpatrick's Cav.; Confed.,
Wheeler's Cav. Losses: Union*; Con-
fed., 240 killed and wounded, 100 miss
ing.

10. — James Island, S. C. Union, Maj.-Gen.
Gillmore's command; Confed., troops of
Gen. Hardee's command. Losses: Union,
20 killed, 76 wounded; Confed., 20
killed, and 70 wounded.

!!• — Sugar Loaf Battery, Federal Point, X.
C. Union, Portions of Twenty-fourth
and Twenty-fifth Corps; Confed., Gen.
Hoke's command. Losses: Union, 14
killed, 114 wounded. Confed.*

16 and 17. — Columbia, S. C. Union, Fifteenth
Corps, Army of the Tennessee, com
manded by Major-General John A.
Logan; Confed., troops of Gen. Beaure-
gard's command. Losses: Union, 20
killed and wounded; Confed.*

18 to 22.— Fort Anderson, Town Creek, and
Wilmington, N. C. Union, Twenty-
third and Twenty-fourth Corps, and
Porter's gunboats; Confed., Gen.
Hoke's command. Losses: Union, 40
killed, 204 wounded; Confed., 70 killed,
400 wounded, 375 missing.

22.— Douglas Landing, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Union, 13th 111. Cav.; Confed., troops of
Gen. Kirby Smith's command. Losses:
Union, 40 killed and wounded; Confed.,
26 killed and wounded.

27 to March 25. — Cavalry raid in Virginia.
Union, First and Third divisions of
Sheridan's Cav. ; Confed., Gen. Jubal
Early's command. Losses: Union, 35
killed and wounded; Confed., 1667 pris
oners.

MARCH, 1865.

2. — \Vaynesboro, Va. Union, Sheridan's
Cavalry Corps. Confed., Maj.-Gen.
Jubal Earlv's command, Rosser's Cav.

* No record found.
[342]

>1GNS OF PEACE— CONFEDERATE ARTILLERY CAPTURED AT RICHMOND AND \V\m\\; >H1PMF.NT

Never acain to be used hy brother against brother, thesr
Confederate cuns captured in the defenses about Ricb-
mond are parked near
the wharves on the
James River ready for
shipment to the national
ars«ial at \Vashincton.
«inoe nwre the capital of
a united o\>untri-. "TCie
reflect km of these in-
struroents of iiestnx^
tion vvi the peaceful sur
face of the canal is not
more dear than »ra> the
pinpose of the :v»irth to
accept the issues of the
war and to nrstore a> far
a> in them lay the bases
fiir an endurinx: pn>-
perity. The same vie-
which manned
^^ braveiy

and prolonged the
human

as knur as it w*s
was now dirrcted to the
rcvV>ieEs> whici tbe
satk* of kostifities
prv>vid«L TVe
I'r.xm cane witk tW
yvars to possmss for t W

- .-
- - •
,

ootroBr lad KM*

t was WK! by t he
in tke CMMDCB tradt-
tkuxs aw) CMHM* Moni
of the whoi» Anwricaa
pe»iple. THrt*- oaptiinoi

- -

fore. »ot of rrcsvt- S«rt
of recognition. cr»:it»«ir.
that the hu^>est earthh/
st-ttkxi all strife

MORTARx LUiHT A\O HK.\YY lU

of tltr (Ettril

Losses: Union*; Confed., killed and
wounded not recorded, KJ03 captured.
8 to 10.— Wilcox's Bridge, N. C. Union,
Palmer's, Carter's, and Ruger's Divi
sions, of Gen. Schofield's command ;
Confed., forces under Gen. Bragg from
Hood's Army of Tennessee, and Hoke's
North Carolina division. Losses: Union,
65 killed, 379 wounded, 953 missing;
Confed.., 1500 killed, wounded, and
missing.

16. — Averysboro', X. C. Union, Twentieth
Corps and Kilpatrick's Cav. ; Confed.,
Gen. Hardee's command. Losses:
Union, 93 killed, 531 wounded; Confed.,
108 killed, 540 wounded, 217 missing.

19 to 21. — Bentonville, N. C. Union, Four

teenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and
Twentieth Corps, and Kilpatrick's Cav.;
Confed., Gen. J. E. Johnston's army
and Wade Hampton's Cav. Losses :
Union, 191 killed, 1168 wounded, 287
missing; Confed., 239 killed, J694
wounded, 673 missing.

20 to April 6. — Stoneman's raid into South

western Va. and North Carolina. Union,
Palmer's, Brown's, and Miller's Cavalry
Brigades; Confed.* Losses.*

22 to April 24. — Wilson's Raid, Chickasaw,
Ala., to Macon, Ga. Union, Gen. James
H. Wilson's Cav. ; Confed., Forrest's
Cav., local garrison and State Militia.
Losses: Union, 63 killed, 345 wounded,
63 missing; Confed., 22 killed, 38
wounded, 6766 prisoners.

25. — Fort Stedman, in front of Petersburg,
Va. Union, First and Third Divisions
Ninth Corps; Confed., Gen. John B.
Gordon's Corps, supported by Lee's ar
tillery in the forts. Losses: Union, 70
killed, 121 wounded, 523 captured; Con-
fed., 800 killed and wounded, 1881 miss
ing (Federal estimate).
— Petersburg Trenches. Second and
Sixth Corps ; Confed., Gen. R. E. Lee's
command. Losses: Union, 103 killed,
861 wounded, 209 missing; Confed.,
killed and wounded not recorded, 831
captured.

26 to April 9. — Siege of Mobile, Ala., includ
ing Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely.
Union, Thirteenth and Sixteenth Corps
and Acting Rear-Admiral Thatcher's
fleet; Confed., Gen. D. H. Maury's land
forces, five gunboats under Commodore

Farrand. Losses: Union, 213 killed,
1211 wounded; Confed., 500 killed and
wounded, 3000 to 1000 captured.

29. — Quaker Road, Vu. Union, Warren's
Fifth Corps and Griffin's First Division,
Army of the Potomac; Confed., Part of
Gen. R. E. Lee's Army. Losses: Union,
55 killed, 306 wounded; Confed., 135
killed, 400 wounded, 100 missing.

31.— Boydton and White Oak Roads, Va.
Union, Second and Fifth Corps; Con-
fed., part of Gen. R. E. Lee's command.
Losses: Union, 177 killed, 1134 wounded,
556 missing; Confed., 1000 killed, 235
missing.

— Dinwiddie C. H., Va. Union, First,
Second, and Third Divisions Cavalry of
the Army of the Potomac ; Confed., Cav.
under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and Gen. W.
H. F. Lee. Losses: Union, 67 killed,
354 wounded; Confed., 400 killed and
wounded.

APRIL, 1865.

1. — Five Forks, Va. Union, First, Second,
and Third Cav. Divisions and Fifth
Corps; Confed., Gen. Geo. E. Piekett's
command. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's Cav., in
cluding Rosser's and Munford's Divi
sions. Losses : Union, 121 killed, 706
wounded; Confed.*

2. — Selma, Ala. Union, Second Division
Cav., Military Division of the Missis
sippi; Forrest's Cav. Losses: Union, 42
killed, 270 wounded, 7 missing; Confed.,
killed and wounded,* 2700 captured.
— Fall of Petersburg, Va. Union, Sec
ond, Sixth, Ninth, and Twenty-fourth
Corps; Confed., Part of Gen. A.
P. Hill's and Gen. J. B. Gordon's
Corps. Losses: Union, 296 killed, 2565
wounded, 500 missing; Confed., killed
and wounded not recorded, 3000 prison
ers (estimate).

3. — Fall of Richmond, Va. Union, Gen.
Weitzel's command; Confed., Local Bri
gade and other forces under command
of Gen. R. S. Ewell. Losses: Confed.,
6()0() prisoners, of whom 500 were sick
and wounded.

5. — Amelia Springs, Va. Union, Crook's
Cav.; Confed., Gary's Cav. Losses :
Union, 20 killed, 96 wounded; Confed.*

* No record found.

-'544

OIK- of tin.- proudest days of the nation —
May i>4, 1803 — here lives again. The
true greatness of the American people was
not displayed till the elose of the war.
The eiti/.en from the walks of humble life
had during the contest become a veteran
soldier, equal in courage and fighting
capacity to the best drilled infantry of
Marlborough, Frederick the Great, or
Napoleon. But it remained to be seen
whether he would return peacefully to the
occupations of peace. European nations
made dark predictions. "Would nearly a
million men," they asked, "one of the
mightiest military organizations ever
trained in war, quietly lay aside this re
sistless power and disappear into the un
noted walks of civil life?" Europe with
its standing armies thought not. Europe
was mistaken. The disbanded veterans
lent the effectiveness of military order and
discipline to the industrial and commercial
development of the land they had come
to love with an increased devotion. The
pictures are of Sherman's troops marching

THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS— THE GRAND REVIEW

down Pennsylvania Avenue. The horse
men in the lead are General Francis P.
Blair and his staff, and the infantry in
flashing new uniforms are part of the
Seventeenth Corps in the Army of Ten
nessee. Little over a year before, they
had started with Sherman on his series of
battles and flanking marches in the strug
gle for Atlanta. They had taken a con
spicuous and important part in the battle
of July 22d east of Atlanta, receiving and
finally repulsing attacks in both front and
rear. They had marched with Sherman
to the sea and participated in the capture
of Savannah. They had joined in the
campaign through the Carolina*, part of
the time leading the advance and tearing
up many miles of railway track, and oper
ating on the extreme right after the battle
of Bentonville. After the negotiations
for Johnston's surrender were completed
in April, they set out on the march for the
last time with flying colors and martial
music, to enter the memorable review at
Washington in May, here preserved.

THE SAME SCENE, A FEW SECONDS LATER

iotgagrmatte 0f % (Ettitl

6. — Sailor's Creek, Va. Union, Second and
Sixth Corps and Sheridan's Cav. ; Con-
fed., Gen. R. S. Ewell's command, and
part of Gen. R. H. Anderson's. Losses:
Union, 166 killed, 1014 wounded; Con-
fed., 6000 killed, wounded, and captured.
(Federal estimate.)

7« — High Bridge and Farmville, Appomattox
River, Va. Union, Second Corps and
portion of Twenty-fourth Corps; COH-
fed., rearguard of Gordon's and Long-
street's Corps and Fitzhugh Lee's Cav.
Losses: Union, 571 killed, 71 wounded,
and missing; Confed.*

8 and 9. — Appomattox C. H., Va. Union,
Twenty-fourth Corps, one division of
the Twenty-fifth Corps and Sheridan's
Cav. ; Confed., Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's Cav.
Losses: Union, 200 killed and wounded;
Confed., 500 killed and wounded.
9. — Gen. R. E. Lee surrendered the Army of
Northern Virginia to the Army of the
Potomac and the Army of the James ;
Lieut. -Gen. U. S. Grant. Confed., sur
rendered and paroled, 27,805.

12 and 13. — Montgomery, Ala. Union, Sec
ond Brigade, First Division Cav. ; Con-
fed., Gen. D. W. Adams' command.
Losses : not recorded.

16.— West Point, Ga. Union, 2d and 4-th
Ind. Cav., 18th Indpt. Bat. Ind. Light
Artil.; Confed., Brig.-Gen. R. C, Tyler
with 300 men. Losses: Union, 7 killed,
29 wounded; Confed., 19 killed, 28
wounded, 218 missing. Brig.-Gen. R. C.
Tyler killed. Last organized Confed
erate resistance East of the Mississippi.
— Columbus, Ga. Union, Fourth Divi
sion Cav. ; Confed., Gen. D. W. Adams'
command. Losses: Union, 6 killed, 21
missing; Confed., killed and wounded
not recorded, 1200 captured.

26. — Gen. Jos. E. Johnston surrendered the
Army of Tennessee and other commands
to the Army of the Tennessee, the Army
of Georgia and the Army of Ohio; Maj.-
Gen. W. T. Sherman. Confed., surren
dered and paroled, 31,243.

MAY, 1865.

*• — Gen. Richard Taylor surrendered with
Army of the Department of Alabama to
Maj!-Gen. E. R. S. Canby. Confed.,
surrendered, 4-2,293.

10.— Capture of Jefferson Davis, President of
the Confederate States of America, at
Irwinsville, Ga., by the 1st Wis. and 4th
Mich. Cav. Losses: Union, 2 killed, 4
wounded, caused by the pursuing parties
firing into each other.
—Tallahassee, Fla. Surrender of Gen.
Samuel Jones' command to detachment
of Wilson's U. S. Cav. under Maj.-Gen.
McCook. Confed., surrendered, 8000.

11.- Chalk Bluff, Ark. Surrender of Gen.
Jeff. Thompson's command to forces un
der Gen. M. Grenville Dodge; Confed.,
surrendered, 7454-.

12 and 13.— Palmetto Ranch, near Browns
ville, Tex. Union, 34th Ind., 62d U. S.
Colored and 2d Tex. Cav. under com
mand Col. F. H. Barrett; Confed., troops
commanded by Brig.-Gen. Jas. H.
Slaughter. Losses: Union, 115 killed
and wounded; Confed.*

23 and 24.— Grand Review of the Federal
armies on Pennsylvania Avenue, Wash
ington. Lieut. -Gen. U. S. Grant, Maj.-
Gen. George G. Meade and Maj.-Gen.
W. T. Sherman occupied the reviewing
stand.

26. — Surrender of Gen. E. Kirby Smith
(Army of the Trans-Mississippi Depart
ment) to Maj.-Gen. E. R. S. Canby.
Confed., surrendered, 17,686.
— In addition to the surrenders noted
above, there were paroled at Cumberland,
Maryland, and other stations, 9337 ; in
the Department of Washington, 3390; in
Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana,
and Texas, 13,922; at Nashville and
Chattanooga, Tenn., 5029- Miscellane
ous paroles in the Department of Vir
ginia amounted to 9072. Total number
paroled, according to the statistics of the
War Department, was 174,223.

No record found.

Review of Twentieth Army Corps, May
21, 186.5. To the strains of popular airs
the Grand Army of the Republic inarched
from the shadow of the Capitol to the
front of the Executive Mansion. Hut
amid the bayonets flashing in the sun
light each soldier was saddened by the
thought of companions in arms who were
not by his side and who would never re
turn to waiting mother or sweetheart.
In the I'nion armies alone three hundred
and fifty-nine thousand men had lain
down their lives in the Civil War, and
the losses in the Southern armies raised
the total to over seven hundred thousand.
Most of these were young fellows, their
years of vigorous activity yet unlived.
If by a sudden catastrophe Cleveland or
Pittsburgh were utterly destroyed, the
loss to the nation would not be so great.
Behind the glamor of military achieve
ment lies the cruel cost to be compen
sated for only by the necessity for decid
ing the questions that had threatened
the foundations of the American nation.

'WHEN THIS CRUEL WAR IS OVER"

The record of the Twentieth Corps was
distinguished. It was engaged in the
constant battling and skirmishing of the
Atlanta Campaign. In the final opera
tions these troops were the first to enter
the city on the morning of September 2.
1864, and it was to General Slorum, their
commander, that the mayor surrendered.
For two months they held Atlanta and
its approaches from the North while the
rest of Sherman's army was engaged in
attacking Hood's retreating columns. In
the march to the sea the corps was com
manded by General A. S. Williams. At
Savannah the troops again had the honor
of being the first to enter an evacuated
city, the second division marching in on
the morning of December 21, 18(54. In
the march through the Carolinas the
corps was in the thick of the fight at
Bentonville, repulsing successive attacks
with the aid of its artillery. Another
change in the commanding officer was
made on April 2d, when General J. A.
Mower succeeded General A. S. William?

READY TO TILL THE FIELDS OF PEACE

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THE FINAL ACT OF THE DRAMA

This is the finale, the last tableau of the Great Drama of the Civil War — a drama that for four years had
held the stage of half a continent with all civilization for an audience. In late April of '65 a photographer
visited Point Lookout Prison, Maryland, and was present when the last Confederate prisoners took the
oath of allegiance to the flag under whose shadow they stand as their hands touch simultaneously the
Bibles — one held by each group of four. At the desk, administering the oath, sits the Commander of the
Department of St. Mary's, General James Barnes, who since recovering from his wounds at Gettysburg
had been in charge of more captured Confederates than there were in Lee's last army. It is a moving

THE LAST CONFEDERATE PRISONERS TAKE THE OATH AT POINT LOOKOUT

sight; it stirs the emotions, to look at the faces of these men, now returning from exile to their war-ridden
country and desolated homes. Theirs is the hardest task in all the world — to conquer defeat and begin
anew, under changed surroundings and conditions, the struggle for existence. Bravely the Southerners
faced it, as bravely as they had faced the line of blue-clad men who are their enemies no longer. Long
before fifty years had passed, when again the war cloud had risen and the country called for men, during
the Spanish \Yar, in the great camps at Chickamauga — "the sons of those sires, at the same camp-fires,
cheered one flag where their fathers fought."

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